Superman
by fyd818
Summary: RononTeyla, SheppardWeir. Teyla is sent to an alternate reality where the Wraith rule can she liberate the Atlantians and find her way home? Complete! Thanks for reading!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own "Stargate: Atlantis." I am in no way trying to make a profit off this story, I am merely writing it and posting for my and other people's enjoyment.

Synopsis: RononTeyla, SheppardWeir. Teyla is sent to an alternate reality where the Wraith rule, and she must help liberate the Atlantians and deal with the differences while she struggles to return home.

Rating: T

Warnings: Violence mostly, a little kissing (nothing heavier, though)

Pairings: Ronon/Teyla, John/Elizabeth

Spoilers: General spoilers mostly; if there are any for a specific episode I will let you know at the beginning of the chapter it is located in. (Small spoiler for "Condemned" in this chapter.)

Title: _Superman_

Author: fyd818

Part 1/?

Dedication: To Dia. Thank you so much for your friendship, I couldn't do this without you. And to leadfingers, thank you so much for your support and your art.

Author's notes: This is going to be another multi chapter fic, but this time it's going to be Ronon/Teyla and John/Elizabeth (hope J/E don't start fighting. . .I'm still having a little trouble writing them). I hope you enjoy this story, and please review!

**Prologue**

The hustle and bustle of the crowded marketplace passed by to Teyla Emmagan's left as she sat at a small little table at an outdoor eatery, enjoying a quiet, calming cup of tea and a bowl of soup.

Across the table from her, Ronon Dex eyed the crowds passing by them with a hint of suspicion. Ever since she had told them that some underhanded things went on in the marketplaces of Theroona, he had kept one hand close to his weapon and a matching eye on the people. Teyla, quite used to this behavior, ignored him and continued to enjoy her meal while it was still warm.

"They should have our order done by the time we finish here," Teyla finally said by way of conversation, trying to draw Ronon's attention back to her and away from the crowds. Some of the passing people were beginning to eye them suspiciously, and the last thing Teyla needed was a repeat of what happened the last time she'd taken Ronon with her on a trading mission.

Ronon mumbled some noncommittal answer and drank the last of his tea. "How often have you traded with these people?" he finally asked her, the first words he'd spoken since they had arrived on Theroona over two hours previous.

Teyla set down her teacup and fumbled in her pocket for some currency to pay for their meal. "I have traded here for many years, and have yet to meet up with the unscrupulous types," she said, a small hint for him.

Ronon didn't take it. "This place seems a little dangerous nevertheless. We should probably leave soon."

Teyla didn't bother to argue, for in a way Ronon was right. They were due back on Atlantis, their home, in about another hour, and she didn't want to cause a panic by not arriving on time. Besides, her people would be expecting the bags of soil fertilizer she was trading for, and the sooner the fertilizer was mixed into the soil the sooner the crops could be planted.

She finally located a few small coins and left them on the table in a neat pile next to her bowl, including a generous tip for the waitress that had taken their order, delivered their food, and kept their cups filled with tea. "Come."

Ronon followed her back into the flow of the crowd, a silent, hulking shadow that followed her every move. Teyla attempted to ignore the shiver that crept up her neck feeling his eyes on her. Lately she'd been having feelings for him, feelings that transcended those from one teammate to another. The thought that Ronon might return those feelings made the hair on the back of her neck stand to attention.

After a few more minutes of weaving through the crowd, Ronon and Teyla finally arrived at their destination, forcing the pretty Athosian to push her thoughts away so she could concentrate on the business at hand.

"Eight bags of fertilizer, as promised," the owner of the booth, Arzat, said. Teyla had traded with him before and knew him to be honest, so she dug in her pocket for more coins as Arzat spoke again. "I'm sorry I had to raise the price on you this year, Teyla, but some of the ingredients are on short supply and I've had to adjust prices to pay for it."

Ronon suddenly leaned down and spoke softly in her ear: "I'll be back in a minute."

Teyla turned to protest, but he had already slipped into the crowd, disappearing into the milling throng as easily as a shadow. She sighed and turned back to Arzat, handing over her coins. "That should be right."

Arzat quickly counted the coins, then smiled and handed one back to her. "One too many," he said. Then, since Ronon had slipped off and Teyla couldn't carry eight bags of fertilizer by herself, the merchant leaned against his booth and started to ask her questions. "How are your people doing?"

Teyla shook her head. "It is has been hard on them. Since the Ancestral city was destroyed and they all had to relocate again, they are finding it hard to readjust their lives back to normal."

Arzat shook his head. "I heard about the city," he said, voice full of sorrow. "Too bad about it."

Teyla nodded in agreement, resisting the urge to look at her timepiece and turn to look for Ronon. "That it is."

Fortunately for her, Ronon appeared at her shoulder at that moment and spared her from any more of Arzat's questions. "Ready to go?" he asked, his expression neutral. Apparently he wasn't anxious to linger longer on Theroona.

"Yes." Teyla didn't bother to ask him where he'd disappeared off to, instead lifting two bags of fertilizer in both of her hands and smiling at Arzat. "I will see you next year," she said. "Thank you."

"Next year!" Arzat called after her, as if to make sure that she did come back. Teyla laughed slightly, weaving her way through the crowds and towards the Stargate. Come to think of it, Atlantis's airy spaces would feel good in comparison to the packed surroundings of Theroona.

They were almost to the Stargate when a hand grasped the lapel of her coat, yanking her off balance and to the side. Ronon's calling of her name came a few seconds to late as she tumbled to the ground, hitting her shoulder hard against the corner of a booth.

Stunned, Teyla found herself staring into the hard blue eyes of a local merchant. Hot, rancid breath whooshed across her face as the little but surprisingly strong man bent over her, his beady eyes staring accusingly at her. "You're going to pay for what you stole from me!" he cried, voice low and raspy.

Teyla looked over the man's shoulder for Ronon, but he was still a ways back in the crowd, trying to force his way through to her. She would have to get herself out of this, and quick. "I stole nothing from you," she said, pushing the obviously drunk merchant away from her and leaping to her feet.

The little man continued to glare at her. "I say you did," he said, his words slurring. "And you'll pay!" He reached out and shoved her hard, sending her crashing backwards into the large stone sculpture behind her.

But instead of landing against it, an electric shock zinged through her entire body and then she landed hard on a floor, darkness pressing around her in a sudden change from the bright sunlight in the marketplace.

Teyla sat up, rubbing her shoulder from where she'd hit it again when she landed. _Where am I?_ she wondered, scrambling to her feet. "Hello?" she called, reaching out a hand to try to feel if there was anything around her.

Immediately her hand touched something smooth and rounded, and she jerked her hand away. "What the. . .?" From the feel of it, it was the same statue that the merchant on the Theroona had knocked her against.

Was she blind? Well, if she was, she was deaf too, because there was not a sound wherever she was.

Her blindness was no longer in question when a sudden, piercingly bright light flashed into her eyes and a rough voice said: "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

Teyla cried out and covered her eyes, trying to protect them from the sudden light. "Turn your light off, please, you are blinding me!"

But, instead of the light going off, a bright red one struck her in the chest, and her entire world faded into blackness right after one last shocked and betrayed thought shot through her mind. _Ronon. . .?_

_To Be Continued. . ._

**_Okay, I'm mean, I know. The prologue was deliberately rushed, from here on out things will still be quick but not quite this quick. No Shweir in this chapter, but there will be some in the next, I promise. It might be a few days before this is updated, because I'm going to be writing this concurrently with my other story, "Enduring Love," and that one will have priority until it is done. But, after that is done (there are only about five to eight chapters left), I promise that updates for this one will come quicker. I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know what you think!_**


	2. Someone Else's Life

Please see first chapter for rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 2/?

**Tinuviel Undomiel** and **Nerwen Aldarion**: Thank you so much! I have a mega big Shwier Teyla/Ronon trilogy going right now that I've been working on for over a year now, but I wanted to do something smaller with both couples in it to get myself back in the swing of writing both couples at the same time. I've kind dried myself up writing Shweir right now, and I've been on a major R/T kick, and I wanted to do this to try to get myself kickstarted again. Hopefully this will get me started again. . .keep your fingers crossed. . .

**Wraith named Michael**: Thank you! Here's the update (hope it's soon enough), and your friends are looking over my shoulder right now. . .maybe they want me to go back to "Enduring Love. . ." Are they going to eat me?

**izzles**: Yes, you'll find that I absolutely love cliffhangers (when I can control them, I hate them on the actual show, LOL), and thank you so much for the compliment! I'm on a major Teyla/Ronon kick right now, so much of the stuff I'm doing right now is heavily Teyla focused, Ronon focused, or focused on both. But I'm trying to get the Shweir part of my brain quickstarted again. Hopefully this fic will do it. But I seriously do like Sparky, they were my first (that I stuck with, I'm kinda scared to say I started out Sheyla, don't hit me with a pillow, please) Atlantis ship, so. . . Yeah. Hopefully they won't argue or get a divorce or anything in this story. . .LOL, just kidding.

Author's note: Some Shweir in this chapter, Teyla, Ronon, and lots of good stuff. Hope you enjoy, and please review!

**Chapter 1**

_Someone Else's Life_

"That's. . ."

"Shut up. I know it is."

"But she's. . ."

"_I know it._ Shut up and go away."

"But. . ."

"_Now!_"

Voices and the sound of feet hurriedly skittering off awoke Teyla from the slumber she'd been forced into. For a long moment she lay motionless on whatever soft surface she was situated on, trying to figure out where she was, what had just happened, and why those voices sounded so familiar.

Then it occurred to her. She had been on Theroona with Ronon, bargaining for some fertilizer for her people's crops, and then suddenly she was somewhere else entirely.

She forced her eyes open, met with bright lights, grey walls, and a very familiar, scowling face lurking only inches away from her infirmary bed.

"Ronon!" Teyla started and automatically shifted back a bit on the bed. "Why did you shoot me?"

Smoldering green eyes were looking at her as if he was trying to bore a hole through her. "Who are you?"

Teyla blinked, incredulous. "Ronon, you know me. I am Teyla Emmagan. . ."

Dex finally moved, leaning forward and shaking his head. "There's where you're wrong. You may look like her, but you're not her." He leaned back slightly, looking relaxed, but Teyla could see the subtle signs that told her that he was ready to reach for the gun strapped to his hip at a moment's notice. "Let's try another question. Are you a Wraith?"

She was going crazy. She had to be. Why else would Ronon suddenly start questioning her as though she was the enemy? "Ronon, it is _me_, Teyla. I am no more a Wraith than you are!"

The Ronon that wasn't leaned forward again, the smoldering in his eyes igniting into flames. "If you are not a Wraith, and you are not Teyla, then who are you? How did you get here? _Why_ are you here?"

Teyla felt like screaming. "The last thing I remember is being in the Theroona marketplace with you. We were on our way back to the Stargate to go back to Atlantis, but one of the merchants accused me of robbing him. I denied it, and he pushed me back into some sort of statue, and then I was in that dark room. Then you shot me and I woke up _here_. If anyone should be asking what is going on, it should be me!"

Ronon shook his head. "I don't believe you. You're going to have to do better than that."

She was so tempted to hit him right then, and probably would have if it were not for the fact that she knew he could reach his weapon quickly and wouldn't hesitate to use it on her. "I do not know how else to say it! It is the truth, I promise you."

Ronon's eyes narrowed. "If it is, it's the most impossible truth _I've_ ever heard."

"But it _is_ the truth!" Teyla protested. She collapsed back against the pillow behind her, deflating. How else to convince him. . .? "Ronon, _please_. . ."

At her words, Ronon suddenly stiffened. For a long moment he looked at her with anger, pain, and fear in his eyes, then he abruptly stood and left the room before the back of his chair could even hit the floor from where he'd tipped it over in his haste.

"Ronon. . .?" she called after him, not expecting an answer nor receiving one. _What was that about?_ That look. . .she'd only seen it once before. . .

_Oh, no. It cannot be. . ._

_Atlantis_

"It's a statue."

Ronon, frustrated and still angry, pushed off the wall of Rodney McKay's lab and went to stand in front of the scientist, looking down at him with as menacing look as he could muster. "It's not just a statue. It can't be, because when Teyla was pushed against it, it made her disappear before it fell over. Now figure it out and get her back!"

A momentary flash of something darkened McKay's eyes, and he quickly stepped back. "I can't guarantee anything. . ." he started, then trailed off as Ronon's hand nonchalantly reached for his weapon. ". . .but I'll do my best."

Ronon retreated to his wall and leaned back again, watching as the scientist busied himself trying to figure out the statue.

Back on Theroona he had seen the merchant push Teyla and her fall back against the statue, but when she had she just disappeared. At first Ronon had thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but when he reached the merchant's stall he realized he hadn't been seeing things: Teyla was completely gone, the bags of fertilizer she'd been carrying chaotically dumped around the statue, which had been knocked backwards.

The merchant had looked terrified when Ronon turned to him, and had not argued when Ronon demanded the statue. The little merchant had given it to him for no fee, saying it was a gift of peace, and Ronon had returned to Atlantis with the statue and the fertilizer, which was probably still laying on the Gateroom floor.

McKay had been hypothesizing for the past half hour on what the statue could possibly be, other than a huge slab of stone, but as of yet he'd come up with nothing plausible. Ronon was hanging around the scientist's lab to make sure that he figured it out, because if Teyla was in danger the sooner they figured out what that stone was and figured out what it was for the sooner they would be able to rescue her.

Or so Ronon hoped. All he could do was remain a menacing presence in the shadows and hope that it was enough incentive for McKay to work faster. . .

_Unknown Location_

"You okay?"

Ronon Dex looked up from the object in his hand, shoving it back into his pocket at John Sheppard's approach. "Have you seen her?" he asked, voice hoarse.

Sheppard blinked. "Yeah. I was there when you came thundering into the infirmary with her, remember?"

Ronon nodded. "Yeah, you were." He was silent for a long moment, his fingers still playing with the object inside his pocket. "Sheppard, she looks just like Teyla. I was questioning her, trying to find out if she was a Wraith or shapeshifter of some kind, and then she just suddenly said 'Ronon, please' just like Teyla did when. . ." Dex stopped and rubbed both hands over his face. "I swear, Sheppard, she looks just like Teyla, but I know it can't be her."

John was silent for a long, introspective moment. "Look, Ronon, Rodney is pretty sure that the thing in the room with her when you found her is an alternate reality mirror."

Dex stared blankly at Sheppard.

John shook his head. "Right, you don't know what that is. Well, back on Earth a few years ago they had an alternate reality mirror that they'd found off world. Someone came through that mirror, and come to find out she was from an _alternate reality_. McKay's pretty sure that that's how this T. . .ah, woman got here."

Ronon was thankful that Sheppard had stopped himself. "And an alternate reality is. . .what?"

"The way Rodney explained it, right now, at the same time as you and I are having this conversation, there could be another you and me somewhere out there talking about something else, or we may not have even met. Supposedly there's thousands of different realities out there, some like this one, some different."

Ronon got the gist of it, he thought. "So McKay thinks that this woman is from one of these alternate realities?"

John nodded. "Yep, pretty much." He nodded to the door of the infirmary. "You just might want to go back in there and ask her a few more questions, and this time try to be a little sympathetic, okay buddy? We don't want to scare her during her first experience in this reality, if it is true and she's from another one." Without another word, Sheppard turned and wandered off back in the direction he'd come from.

Ronon muttered an unkind word under his breath and then turned back to the infirmary, steeling himself before going through the door.

The woman was still sitting on her bed, watching him with sad brown eyes. There was a contrite look on her face, and when she saw him she said softly: "I apologize, I did not mean to. . ."

Ronon held up one hand and went to stand next to her bed. "Don't. Just tell me, are you from an alternate reality?"

Those limitless brown eyes blinked. "I. . .yes, I do believe so." It was obvious that she was struggling to remember something, as though it had been told to her long ago and she was having trouble recalling it. "If I remember Doctor McKay's explanation of alternate realities correctly, then yes, I am from an alternate reality, because this is not Atlantis's infirmary and you are certainly not my Ronon Dex."

Ronon clenched his fists. "You're not on Atlantis. You're on the Alpha Site."

She blinked. "Alpha Site? But what about Atlantis. . .?"

"The Wraith destroyed it last year." He offered no other information. "I apologize for my earlier words. . ." He trailed off.

"Teyla," she said softly.

"I know." He struggled to make the words not sound harsh. "It's just. . .you look so much like her, and. . ." He shook his head. "I figured you had to be an imposter here to try to destroy us."

Teyla curled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "I am sorry to make you think that, but I am as confused as you, I think."

Ronon managed a stiff smile. "Perhaps so."

Teyla smiled, a soft little smile that lit her eyes, and Ronon swallowed back the sudden painful lump at the back of his throat. "I'm sorry, I have to. . ." he motioned for the door and hurried out, wishing that it were anyone's sad eyes but Teyla's watching him leave.

_Alpha Site_

"So she's from an alternate reality?"

John Sheppard shrugged and picked up the Athosian pot off Elizabeth Weir's makeshift desk. "I think so, and Rodney thinks so. Ronon. . ." he hesitated and set the pot down again at Elizabeth's look. "Well, let's just say that he's not too happy to have her here."

Elizabeth leaned forward and rested her elbows on her desk. "John, I don't think we should push him. After what happened on Atlantis. . ." she trailed off, perhaps thinking that even speaking of it would be an invasion of privacy. "I imagine it's very hard for him to adjust to having her here again."

John rubbed his eyes tiredly. "'Lizabeth, he's got to come to terms with what happened sooner or later, and maybe this is the best way for that to happen."

Weir leaned back again and nodded. "I hope you're right, John. We've all lost something to the Wraith when they destroyed Atlantis, but I think Ronon's the only one who took it so hard. . ." She trailed off and rubbed the back of her neck. "We can think about it more in the morning. Right now, let's just go to bed. It's been a long day for all of us." She reached beneath her desk, and then moments later she rolled her wheelchair around the desk and paused next to the door, waiting for John to step up next to her. "I'm sorry for Ronon, honestly I am, but I do believe that this is also the best thing for him."

John leaned down to kiss his wife. "I hope you're right, 'Lizabeth. I really do."

_To Be Continued. . ._

**_Aha! I managed another chapter today! I may be able to manage chapter 2 tomorrow, since it's a weekend, but during the week I think I'll only be able to manage one or two until "Enduring Love" is finished. Next chapter you get to find out a lot of stuff, including why Elizabeth is in a wheelchair! Hope you enjoyed!_**


	3. Ronon's Tragedy

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 3/?

**Wraith named Michael:** You'll get to find out in this chapter what happened to the alternate Teyla and what put the alternate Elizabeth in a wheelchair. You also get to meet a few other characters, and I hope you enjoy it!

**thedummie2**: Thank you! (blushes) I'm having much, much fun writing this story. And in this chapter you'll get to find out exactly what happened to the other universe's Teyla, and what put Elizabeth in a wheelchair. You also get to meet more characters. I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope it's fun to read, too! (I also cried once, but we won't go there.)

Author's note: For all of you waiting for the update for "Enduring Love," I am sorry that I did not get it up as well. I got this chapter written last night, but I woke up early this morning sick and have not had an opportunity to write chapter 16 of "Love." Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow and be able to get it written. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy chapter 2 of "Superman"!

**Chapter 2**

_Ronon's Tragedy_

The alternate reality Carson Beckett took little time before letting Teyla out of the infirmary with a warning to be careful, just in case she should suffer any negative side effects from either mirror travel or Ronon's weapon.

Immediately upon escaping from the infirmary, Teyla went in search of Ronon. She had no clue what she had done to offend the man, but she planned on apologizing for it because she hated being at odds with her own Ronon, let alone one from another universe.

She was wandering the grey halls of the Alpha Site, thinking that everything looked exactly the same and she had no clue where she was, when she rounded a corner and nearly tripped over someone in a wheelchair.

"I am sorry!" she said, steadying herself against the wall as the woman in the wheelchair did a quick wrist turn to balance the chair again.

"That's fine," the dark haired woman said, looking up with a smile.

Teyla started when she realized that the woman in the chair was Elizabeth. "I. . ." It seemed strange to see Doctor Weir in a wheelchair without either of her legs in a cast.

Weir followed Teyla's gaze and then looked up with a raised eyebrow. "I'm assuming that the Elizabeth Weir from your reality can walk?" she questioned with the tone of a woman who was used to answering questions about her disability and wasn't ashamed of it.

Teyla nodded. "Yes, she can. Pardon me for staring, but everything is so different here, and it is taking quite a bit of getting used to."

Elizabeth smiled slightly. "I imagine it would be. I must say I'm getting a few strange feelings myself seeing you here."

Teyla didn't take offense to that. "I am sorry I nearly ran over you," she apologized.

Weir shook her head and held up a hand. "It's fine," she said. "But where are you headed? I'll point you in the right direction."

"I am going to find Ronon," Teyla admitted. "I wanted to apologize to him, because I think I may have offended him in some way."

Elizabeth shook her head. "He's been like that for almost two years," she said. "It wasn't you, don't worry." Weir swung her chair around and pointed down the hall in the direction she'd come from. "He's probably in his quarters. Go down this hall, turn right, turn right again halfway down the hall, and his quarters are the third door on the left."

"Thank you, Doctor Weir."

"No problem, Teyla." Elizabeth wheeled herself around Teyla and continued on her way with a little wave.

Teyla thought back to Elizabeth's directions and followed them, arriving at the door to Ronon's quarters only a few moments later. She nervously wiped her hands on her pants, almost afraid to knock for fear of making him mad when he saw it was her at his door. Perhaps he wasn't there and she could just knock and leave. . .?

She reached up her hand and nervously knocked, listening intently for any sounds coming from inside. She was halfway disappointed to hear footsteps, and then the door swung open and there was Ronon's broad shouldered form filling the doorway.

"I came to apologize," Teyla said in lieu of a greeting. "I do no know what I have done to offend you, but I wanted to apologize for whatever it was. . ."

An almost soft look entered Ronon's eyes. "I'm the one who should apologize." He stepped back. "Come on in. I think I owe you an explanation."

Teyla swallowed hard and entered the room, standing awkwardly next to Ronon as he closed the door. He motioned her to a chair, sitting down across from her on the bed in the somewhat cramped space. "I'm sorry if I seemed a little rude when we first met," he said, sounding sincere. He looked as awkward as she felt. "It's just. . ."

"Awkward?" Teyla offered.

Ronon nodded. "Yeah, something like that," he agreed. "You see, I met my Teyla Emmagan about five years ago on her planet, Athos. Major Sheppard and some of his people were already there, and their doctor got the tracking device out of me. The Wraith attacked Athos before we could leave again, and Sheppard brought me and the rest of the Athosians back to Atlantis with him.

"Unfortunately, some of the Athosians, including Teyla, and Sheppard's people had been captured by the Wraith during the culling. Sheppard took a team and rescued most of the Athosians and his people, losing only one of his people and one Athosian."

So far most of this story matched what had happened in her world, with some glaring differences. Teyla sat quiet and still and waited for more.

"Most of the Athosians moved to the mainland that the Atlantians had discovered quite a ways off the west pier of Atlantis," Ronon continued. "I stayed in Atlantis, and so did you. . ._she_. We both got onto Sheppard's team, and things just kind of progressed from there, I suppose. Can't really explain what happened, but there was just. . .something between us, we both felt it." Ronon fell into retrospective silence, his eyes staring somewhere over her right shoulder as if he was lost in his memories.

Teyla swallowed hard. She had a feeling she knew where this story was going, and suddenly it seemed even more cramped inside the room.

Ronon started speaking again, so suddenly it made Teyla jump. "We got married about a year after we met. Teyla stayed on Atlantis to train the Marines that came in from Earth, and I kept on with Sheppard's team. Things were going pretty well, we were happy.

"About six months after we got married, Teyla found out she was pregnant. A couple months after that, Sheppard and Weir got married, and only a week after that things started going wrong."

_The Wraith._ It had to be. It was always the Wraith.

She was right. "We had been noticing a heightened level of Wraith activity in the area, but we hadn't thought much about it. They hadn't shown much interest in Atlantis since Sheppard accidentally woke them, and we didn't think that they had at that time. But we were all wrong: they had.

"A ship arrived from Earth, the _Daedalus_, and with it came a ZPM. We hooked it up and got the shield up, and we managed to destroy the three Hive ships that had come to destroy us." Ronon sighed and dragged his hands down his face, looking exhausted both emotionally and physically. "It wasn't enough. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming, bombarding Atlantis over and over again.

"All the Atlantis teams kept going out trying to find new ZPMs, but eventually we stopped finding them. The modules were being drained faster than we could find them, and we all knew that we were fighting a losing battle."

That was unsurprising: even in Teyla's own universe, they were fighting a losing battle though it wasn't quite as noticeable as it was in this one.

"About two months before the city was destroyed, Teyla gave birth to our children, a boy and a girl. We named them Jadin and Kyana. Doctor Weir was pregnant by this time, too, and she was due to give birth in about three months."

Something inside Teyla twisted painfully. She had a feeling she knew what was coming and wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it.

"Teyla and the twins immediately went through the Stargate to the Alpha Site so they'd be safe, mostly by my insistence. The rest of us kept fighting, going out and finding more ZPMs, fighting some more. . .the pattern just kept going.

"After a few weeks Teyla came back to Atlantis. She told me that she was determined to fight for our home, for our children, and I didn't argue with her. She was a proud and stubborn woman, always had been. No one could usually change her mind, not even me, unless she really wanted it changed."

Teyla got the feeling that, in a way, Ronon was just reciting the story and had almost forgotten her presence. She said nothing, instead continuing to listen intently.

"About a week before the city was destroyed, the Wraith started getting through the shields and attacking Atlantis from the inside. By now we were beginning to realize that Atlantis was gong to be destroyed no matter what we did, so we all started drawing back towards the Gateroom for evacuation.

"One of the Wraith got through the blockade we had set up around the Gate and control rooms. A lot of people were stunned, including Doctor Weir. That sent her into early labor, and Beckett had deliver her and Sheppard's baby right there in the middle of the control room with the Wraith attacking Atlantis from the inside out. She gave birth to a little baby girl, Annie. She was very weak, very small, obviously premature, but she survived somehow. Spunky kid; still is."

Teyla swallowed back her smile at Ronon's words.

"We finally decided that it was time to set the self destruct and leave the city. The shield was failing, the Wraith were pressing in all around us, and we knew that we'd lost." Dex stopped and rubbed a hand over his eyes angrily, obviously having more trouble relating this part of the story.

"We were evacuating through the Stargate when part of the Gateroom ceiling collapsed by a hit from a Wraith Dart. A lot of people were hit by debris; buried. Doctor Weir was trapped under some of the debris, and that's why she's paralyzed. . .it crushed the lower vertebrae in her back and severed her spine just above her waist. She hasn't been able to move her legs since then."

Teyla swallowed hard. That explained that. . .

Ronon shook his head and looked up at her with haunted jade eyes. "Teyla was buried under some of the debris, too. Sheppard helped me dig her out, and we all got through the Stargate with only seconds to spare before the city self destructed. There were some that had been killed when the ceiling collapsed, and they were all lost with Atlantis. . ." Ronon ran his hand over his eyes again as though he was trying hard not to cry.

"We may have made it through the Stargate, but it was too late. When the ceiling collapsed, it caused massive hemorrhaging inside many of Teyla's vital organs, and she died in my arms on the other side of the Stargate. Her last words to me were 'Ronon, please. . .' When you said that to me back in the infirmary, you looked and sounded so much like she had that day that it. . . It made me think of her and what had happened. So if I'm ever a little gruff with you, it's not because of you, it's because of what happened to my Teyla. Sometimes when I look at you I see her, and. . ."

A knock on the door interrupted him, and he swiped a hand quickly over his eyes again before turning in that direction. "Who is it?" he called.

"Papa! It's us!"

"Jadin and Kyana," he whispered to Teyla. "Come in!"

The door burst open and two small whirlwinds, both dressed in blue, whooshed inside and leaped on Ronon.

Teyla felt awkward and motioned to Ronon that she'd talk to him later. Then she slipped out of the room, leaving Ronon alone with his children and his thoughts for a while.

Besides, she needed time to process all that Ronon had just told her.

_Atlantis_

"Well, it's an alternate reality mirror."

Ronon crossed his arms and looked over at Sheppard, who shrugged his shoulders slightly in a "don't look at me" gesture. Dex turned back to McKay and growled: "You told us that yesterday. So what does it do, and how do we get Teyla back?"

McKay looked nervous. "Well, you see, that's the problem. When Teyla got knocked into the mirror and it got knocked over, that turned it off, I think, and I'm not sure, but it might have been broken, too. . ."

Ronon did _not_ want to hear that. "Fix it."

Rodney blinked. "It's not that simple! It's an alternate reality mirror, not a toaster! The Ancients didn't exactly leave a little book of repair instructions when they left the city, and since there's not an Ancient around now that I can talk to, we're in a bit of trouble!"

Sheppard cleared his throat and spoke. "Rodney, have you found the 'on' button yet?"

McKay looked at Sheppard, brow furrowing in confusion. "No, not yet. Why?"

John rapped his fingers impatiently on McKay's lab table. "Perhaps if you tried to find the button and turn it on, we'd know if it really was broken. Maybe when the mirror fell over it just turned itself off."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I thought of that, as I have already pointed out, and I've been looking for the stupid on button for the past twelve hours. I can't seem to be able to find it." He tapped the mirror with a finger and then pointed to John. "You've got the high and mighty natural gene, why don't you try touching the stupid thing and see if it'll react to _you_?"

John calmly blinked. "Teyla doesn't have the gene. It must have already been on when she fell against it and turned itself off when it fell over, like a safety mechanism or something. You've got the gene too, from the therapy. If it doesn't work for you. . ."

"Just try it." McKay looked like his patience had worn thin long ago, and one more thing would make it snap.

Sheppard, seeming to realize the same thing, strode across the lab and touched the mirror. He closed his eyes, concentrated for a long moment, and then opened them again to look at McKay. "Nothing, see?" He pulled his hand off the device and stepped back. "You're going to have to find the on switch the hard way, McKay, and then figure out how to toggle back and forth between realities. We've got to find Teyla, wherever she is."

McKay sighed and mumbled something under his breath. "All right, fine." He leaned back over the device and went back to work, running his fingers over the surface of the stone and poking a thin nail file into the little niches he couldn't fit his fingers into.

Ronon pushed off the wall and left the room, a tight feeling in his chest. What if the mirror couldn't be turned on, and they couldn't find Teyla? Her people needed her, the Atlantians needed her, and he'd recently discovered that he needed her, too. She understood him in a way none of the Atlantians could, and without her friendship and gentle countenance he was finding himself lost and surprisingly alone.

"Ronon, wait!"

Dex paused in the middle of the hallway, waiting for Sheppard to catch up. "What?"

John was looking at him with an intense gaze. "I know what you're thinking, Ronon, and it's not possible. You're not Superman, you can't save everyone. Believe me, I've tried that, and it's just not possible."

Ronon had no clue who Superman was, but judging by the name it had to be another one of the Earthlings' strange myths, this one all powerful. He knew Sheppard was right with what he said, but who could blame him for wanting to be? "Maybe not," he said simply. "But I can certainly try to be." He walked off, leaving Sheppard standing, puzzled, alone in the middle of the hall.

All Ronon could do was hope that McKay got the mirror fixed soon and they could find Teyla, because something deep inside him was whispering that she was in terrible danger.

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**You'll get to meet Annie in the next chapter, and there will be more of the twins. Just for clarification, Jadin is pronounced Jay-din and Kyana is pronounced Key-ah-na. I figure you all know that, but I just wanted to clarify for some who may not have read my other fic, "Enduring Love." (Kyana is the name of Teyla's little girl in that fic, too. Jadin is. . .well, I've just always liked that name.) Hope you enjoyed chapter 2, and chapter 3 will be coming soon!**_


	4. Heroes

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, pairings, warnings, etc.

Part 4/?

**SapphireJewelledQueen**: Thank you! I'm having so much fun writing this story, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

**Wraith named Michael**: Thank you! I feel sorry for Ronon too, I was sitting here crying when I was writing this chapter. . .Sometimes I do wonder why I killed off Teyla. . .hm. You'll get to see more of Jadin and Kyana in this chapter, and meet Annie. And your friends have increased in number and are watching me now. . .hungrily. . .

**Nerwen Aldarion**: Thank you! And I'm afraid it's gonna be a bit before Teyla gets to go home. . . Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Thedummie2**: Thank you so much! Sometimes on the show with Teyla he seems a lot softer a person than he typically does when he's just doing whatever, so I've always figured he had a softer side. And, besides, who doesn't like kids? I'm working on "Enduring Love" as quickly as I can, there's a few more chapters left, and I'm sorry I almost made you cry. . .Sorry.

Author's note: Sorry I didn't get out this chapter yesterday. I hope this one makes up for it!

**Chapter 3**

_Heroes_

"May I join you?"

Teyla looked up from her meal to find Doctor Weir motioning to the place across from her, tray balanced on her lap and cup of tea in one hand. There was a questioning look on her face, and Teyla quickly shook herself out of her thoughts and nodded. "Yes, please do."

Elizabeth smiled her thanks and maneuvered her wheelchair into place across the table from Teyla. "John is trying to poke Rodney into motion working on that mirror that deposited you here, and I didn't want to eat alone. When I saw you here, looking kind of lonely yourself, I wondered if perhaps you wouldn't mind some company."

Teyla nodded and smiled. "You are right about that. Ronon gave me so much to think about earlier. . ." She paused and sipped at her tea. "I briefly saw his son and daughter. Adorable children."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, they are. Sometimes I think they and my daughter, Annie, are inseparable." She laughed slightly, her jade eyes full of good humor. "The trouble those three have gotten into in the past. . .sometimes I wonder how they haven't blown Alpha Site off the face of this planet yet. Or, at the least, all of our minds."

Teyla, curious, decided to ask a question. "Can Kyana and Jadin sense the Wraith?"

Weir's eyes turned thoughtful. "Carson has a theory on that. In truth we are not sure if they can or not, because we have not encountered Wraith here since we came here, which is good. Their mother could sense the Wraith because of the DNA inside her, so Carson seems to think that the twins should be able to sense them to at least some degree like her. You have the same ability?"

Teyla nodded and swallowed her bite of fruit before responding. "Yes, I do. That was why I was curious. . .I was wondering if the Teyla of your world had the same ability, and if it carried to her children." What she didn't admit why exactly she was curious; if she were ever to have children someday, she wanted to know if she'd be exposing them to the horror of sensing the Wraith.

Elizabeth shrugged slightly and tapped the tines of her fork twice against her plate. "As I said, we have yet to encounter the Wraith here and the children do not go offworld, so we aren't sure if they can sense them or not. Ronon hopes they can't, not as much as their mother at least. He's scared to death that it would scar them both for life as young as they are."

Teyla briefly thought back to her own experience as a young child and shuddered, also hoping that Jadin and Kyana would not have to experience the same thing. "As do I." Another thought struck her. "Does your daughter have the gene of the Ancestors?"

Weir nodded. "Not as strong as her father, of course. Since I don't have it, I suppose my genes in some ways counteracted the Ancient gene, and while Annie can use some of the Ancient's technology with ease, it is obvious that her gene is not nearly as strong as John's. Which, in some ways, is a good thing, and in others it is bad."

She supposed that was true. "I'm sorry for asking so many questions, it's just that things are so different here, and yet in some ways they seem so similar. I suppose the biggest difference I have seen is Ronon. . .he is so different from mine."

"You're married to yours?"

Sudden heat in her cheeks made her wonder why she'd ever brought the subject up. "No, I am not. No. We are just friends. What I mean to say is, this Ronon is so much angrier in some ways, so much more sullen. But when he was with Jadin and Kyana, he seemed happier. I am glad he has his children."

Elizabeth nodded. "I think that's what's helped him keep going after Teyla died. He's been so despondent for these past couple of years, but whenever Jadin and Kyana are around, you can always see a little bit of that old Ronon coming back. He's always happier when they're around, that's for certain, though I know that he misses Teyla terribly."

Teyla nodded and was beginning to say something when a loud, piercing alarm began to wail deeper within the fortress. "What is that?" she asked instead.

Weir had paled. "No. . ." She already had her wheelchair in motion, headed towards the doorway of the cafeteria. "That's the alarm to tell us when Wraith activity is in the area!"

_Oh no._ Teyla leaped to her feet and followed Elizabeth out of the cafeteria, trailing her all the way to the command center.

When the two women arrived, Colonel Sheppard, Ronon, Rodney, and a man Teyla recognized as Major Lorne were already there, all leaning over a small computer screen. Next to Colonel Sheppard stood a little girl Teyla assumed was Annie. She looked terrified, her hazel eyes wide with fear as she clung to Sheppard's leg.

Sheppard looked up when his wife and Teyla entered the room. "We gotta evacuate," he greeted them with. "I don't know how, but somehow the Wraith know we're here, they've finally found us."

Almost before the words were out of Sheppard's mouth the entire fortress shook unsteadily, and Teyla knew that the Wraith were beginning to bombard the surface, hoping to find their enemy's underground fortress and invade it.

Annie squealed and let go of her father, running to her mother and leaping into her lap, burying her face in Elizabeth's neck and whimpering in fear, her small body shaking all over.

Elizabeth held her daughter steady with one hand and reached for the radio in her ear with the other. "Attention all Alpha Site personnel, this is Weir. Please proceed to the Gateroom as quickly as possible for immediate evacuation. This is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill, please proceed to the Gateroom as quickly as possible for _immediate_ evacuation."

Ronon muttered something and ran for the halls, dodging the first few evacuees who were arriving. Teyla hesitated, then followed him, having a feeling she knew where he was going.

"Ronon!"

He paused and allowed her to catch up. "Jadin and Kyana are in Kyana's quarters, or at least they're supposed to be," he explained to her as they started running again. "Do you feel anything?"

The feeling of the Wraith had been growing inside her so slowly she had hardly noticed it past the feeling of panic. "Yes, slightly. I believe the Wraith are directly overhead."

Ronon muttered a Satedan curse and picked up the pace. "We've got to get to the kids before the Wraith start getting in."

It seemed to take forever to reach Kyana's quarters, but finally Ronon and Teyla burst inside.

"Jadin? Kyana!"

Both children were lying on the bed, hands over their ears and tears streaming down their cheeks. They were curled into fetal positions and screaming at decibels Teyla was sure normal human voices weren't supposed to reach. "The Wraith," she said in horror to Ronon. "The children must have picked up my. . .I mean, your Teyla's mental abilities to communicate with the Wraith. Since they are children, the thoughts of the Wraith must be overwhelming them and it must have been so much easier for the Wraith to get into their minds."

Ronon muttered another curse and ran to his children, picking up Jadin as Teyla reached for Kyana. "It's okay, it's okay!" the Satedan kept saying softly to his children. "I promise, we're leaving, it's going to be okay."

Kyana stopped crying and looked up into Teyla's face, her look of fear transforming into surprise as she stopped screaming. "Mama?"

At almost the same moment Jadin turned around in his father's arms and caught sight of her. "Mama!"

Teyla looked up in time to see tears of pain in Ronon's eyes. She looked away, back to Kyana, and shook her head. "No, Kyana, Jadin, I am not your mother. I am sorry."

Kyana began to cry again and buried her face in Teyla's neck. "But you feel like our mother," she whispered.

Teyla looked up sharply at Ronon, who had both eyebrows raised. He shook his head: apparently he didn't even know what Kyana was talking about. Was it possible for the Wraith DNA in Kyana and Jadin and in her help the children to sense her presence in a way that no one had known?

Another direct hit to the base made the walls shudder unsteadily and the lights flicker. Kyana and Jadin screamed simultaneously as Ronon and Teyla made a break for the door.

"Locket!"

The cry from the child in her arms made Teyla pause. "Ronon!"

He turned around. "What?"

"Kyana said locket. What does she mean?"

Ronon turned and went back into his daughter's quarters, going over to the bedside table and snatching up a gold object lying there. "A locket," he said, holding it up for Teyla to see as they resumed their attempt at escape. "It's got a picture of me and Teyla in it. That must be how Jadin and Kyana recognized you. . .they've looked at her picture a thousand times. The locket was Teyla's. . .I gave it to Kyana for her second birthday so she and Jadin would have a picture of their mother to look at. All the other pictures we had were destroyed with Atlantis." Ronon reached out his free hand and slipped the chain over his daughter's head so the locket rested against the little girl's stomach. "Don't take it off again until we're safe on Beta Site," he warned his daughter.

Kyana had her head buried in Teyla's neck again, but she nodded to let her father know that she heard him and understood.

The four continued their flight down the halls of the fortress, headed back towards the Gateroom. By now the halls were pretty much empty, and each hit from above was coming harder and faster.

Another hit, only feet behind Ronon and Teyla, made the entire hall pitch and dumped both Ronon and Teyla to the floor. The Athosian wrapped herself around the terrified Kyana to protect her, cushioning the blow for her and covering her to keep the debris raining down on top of them from injuring the little girl.

A sharp pain in her leg made her grunt as she held on to Kyana, waiting for the rainfall of debris to stop. When it finally did, diminishing to dust, she raised her head.

The lights were out now; the only light they had were from the red emergency lights that cast weird flickering shadows across the walls, floor, and piles of debris lying everywhere.

Teyla coughed. "Kyana, are you all right?" she whispered.

The little girl coughed as well and struggled out from under Teyla. "Fine," she muttered, sounding terrified.

Teyla raised her voice. "Ronon! Jadin!"

Suddenly Ronon was next to her, eyes desperate. "Teyla, your leg. . ."

Teyla twisted her body and looked, feeling panic rise up deep inside her. A particularly large slab of concrete had fallen across her left leg, pinning it down and keeping her from being able to move it.

She was trapped.

She turned to look back at Ronon, opening her mouth to tell him to run with Jadin and Kyana, to get themselves out while he still could. But her words died on her lips when she saw the look on his face.

It was obvious that his mind had taken him back to the day Atlantis was destroyed, to the day that his wife had been killed, and that he was seeing her as his wife, trapped. There was a look of such heart crushing pain, such anguish, on his face and in his eyes that it made Teyla's stomach twist in sympathy. But she had to snap him out of it, had to make him leave. . .

Teyla reached up a desperate hand and curled it around the collar of Ronon's shirt, yanking to get his attention. "_Go_," she hissed through teeth gritted tightly with pain. "Get Jadin and Kyana out of here."

Ronon shook off whatever spell he'd fallen under and shook his head. "Don't. . ."

Teyla let go of Ronon's collar and gave him a hearty push in the chest. "I am trying to get myself free, just get Jadin and Kyana out! Go!"

Ronon blinked again, opened his mouth to protest. . . But then something changed. His eyes hardened and he turned to Jadin and Kyana, snatching them both into his arms before he ran down the hall.

Teyla allowed her head to drop down to her arms, resting on the floor. _Finally._ She twisted her body as much as she could and strained at the slab of concrete, pushing with all her might and trying to get it off her leg so she could escape too.

It didn't budge an inch. She wasn't strong enough to push it off. She was going to die here, in a reality that wasn't even her own, alone and definitely scared. "Ronon," she whispered to her own even though she knew there was no way he could hear her, "I am so sorry for never telling you. . ."

"Teyla!"

Her head snapped up from where she'd rested it on her arms again. The voice had been Ronon's, and for a split second she thought it was hers coming to get her. But instead of her Ronon she saw this reality's, his children gone.

He was coming back to rescue her.

"I told you to leave," she hissed angrily at him as he knelt next to her and reached for the concrete on her leg.

Ronon shot her a grin. "I never listened to my Teyla," he told her. "Why should I listen to you?" With a groan of effort, he managed to lift the concrete off her leg enough for her to pull it out. He allowed it to drop back to the ground as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards the Gateroom. "Besides, you told me to get Jadin and Kyana out of here. You said nothing about me."

Teyla shook her head, wondering if Ronon's brashness was the same in every reality or if it was just hers and this one. "This was very stupid of you, you know."

Ronon ducked involuntarily as another direct hit rocked the base. "Yeah, maybe. McKay got the mirror out, and Doctor Weir got Jadin and Kyana through with Annie. Sheppard's holdin' the door open for us."

Teyla clung to Ronon with her arms around his neck, watching in relief as the silver blue glow of the event horizon came into focus only a few seconds later. They were closer than she'd thought they were. . .

Colonel Sheppard glanced at the open Stargate and then back at them. "Come on, hurry!" He had his finger poised on a small remote in his hand. . .the detonate button for the self destruct. "I gotta self destruct this place before the Wraith get in!"

The three leaped through at the same time, Sheppard pressing the "Detonate" button only a split second before they did.

When they exited the other side, Ronon cleared the Stargate on one side as Sheppard cleared the other, and a moment later a column of fire followed them through the horizon.

Then the Stargate placidly shut down, and Ronon slumped to his knees on the floor, easing Teyla down with him. "That was close," he said. "Too close."

"Papa!"

Ronon was once more mobbed by two small kids, and this time Ronon wrapped his arms around Jadin, Kyana, _and_ her, holding all three of them close to his chest as though he planned on never letting them go.

Teyla knew she didn't belong here, but for a brief moment she closed her eyes and allowed herself to fantasize that this moment belonged to her, her Ronon, and her reality.

_To Be Continued. . ._

**_I'm evil, I know. Next chapter up soon, if not tomorrow then hopefully the day after that! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_**


	5. Dark Night

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, pairings, warnings, etc.

Part 5/?

**Thedummie2**: Thank you! I wanted Ronon to explain about the locket, but I figured since both he and Teyla were running down the halls towards the Gateroom with Jadin and Kyana it would keep them talking, give an explanation, and keep them moving at the same time. I guess trying to kill three birds with one stone in that instance just didn't work. . .sorry! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope this one flows better!

**Wraith named Michael**: I'm glad you liked the ending scene. . .for some reason to me it turned out kind of awkward, but I'm glad it didn't seem that way to you. That makes me feel better. . . Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter, too!

**darkjewelledassassin**: Wow! I'm so blown away. I knew that three of my stories were already in the R/T romance community, but all of them. . .major wow! Thank you! (blushes) I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope this one turns out good, too!

**SapphireJewelledQueen**: LOL! Thank you so much. I hope this one is good, too!

Author's note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out to you all, but I wanted to finish up "Enduring Love" before I got too much more involved in this story. Now that "Love" is finished, I should be able to update this story every day, with maybe the occasional every other day update if things get too hectic in my life. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and once more I'm sorry for it taking so long!

**Chapter 4**

_Black Night_

"_Teyla_!"

Ronon's own cry snapped him awake as he jerked upright in bed, hand reaching for a weapon that wasn't there as his gaze darted about his quarters. The remains of his nightmare turned the shadows in the corners into lurking enemies, waiting to pounce. . .

He shook his head sharply to bring himself fully awake and scrubbed his hands over his face. _Whoa. . ._ That had been one of the most intense dreams he'd had for a long time; the only ones that could maybe rival it were from back when he was still a Runner.

Ronon pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, desperate to erase the image burned into his mind. Teyla lying on the ground, her blood making a crimson stain on the grass beneath her; glassy brown eyes staring unseeingly into his; her blood on his hands. . .

"_No_!" Ronon said sharply to himself, shaking his head and pressing harder against his eyes. "She's okay, she's okay, she's _okay_. . ." _Wherever she is. . ._

Dex pulled his hands off his eyes and blinked, trying to get them to readjust to his dark room. Atlantica's moon was not out that night; a small sea storm had stirred up earlier in the evening and the only light intermittently flashing through his window where white streaks of lightning, adding effect to his chilling dream.

Thunder rumbled across the city, and Ronon shuddered. He'd never been affected by thunderstorms before, but this time there was something chilling, something ominous, inside those dark clouds. Perhaps it was just because of his dream, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that Teyla, wherever she was, was in danger, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. . .

_Beta Site_

Since the building that was Beta Site was underground, Teyla couldn't see outside, but even though she couldn't she just knew deep inside her that it was a dark night.

It had to be, because if it wasn't it wouldn't match the mood inside her heart.

This reality's Doctor Beckett had diagnosed her with a lightly bruised shin, and a few minor cuts, and had allowed her to the leave the infirmary. He told her that her leg would be sore for a while, and she'd have a nasty limp for a couple of days, but there was no permanent damage.

Doctor Weir had kindly arranged for her to have temporary quarters in the Beta Site, and another Atlantian about Teyla's size had loaned her a couple of new uniforms to wear since all the clothes she had were the ones she had been wearing when she originally came to this reality.

So, wearing one of the borrowed uniforms, Teyla settled herself onto the military cot in her quarters and propped her leg up on a pillow with an ice pack over it to lessen the swelling. Hopefully she wouldn't be stuck in this reality too much longer; she kept expecting someone to come and tell her that it was time for her to go back to her own home.

A knock at the door to her quarters interrupted Teyla's thoughts, and she called: "Enter."

The knob turned and the door opened just enough for Ronon to stick his head around. "Were you asleep?"

"No." Teyla shifted slightly and motioned to her leg. "Come on in, and pardon me for not getting up."

Ronon entered and quietly shut the door behind him, settling his tall frame into the single chair in the cramped room. "How is your leg?"

"Sore," she admitted, wondering what he was there for. "Doctor Beckett told me that I would be limping around for the next two days or so, and that my leg would be sore for a while longer, but there is no permanent damage."

"That's good," Ronon said, nodding absently. "It looked worse than it actually turned out then, I suppose."

"Yes, it was." She hesitated as the silence stretched. "Pardon me if I am being rude, Ronon, but why are you here?"

"I wanted to thank you for saving Kyana. She probably would have been killed when that ceiling collapsed if you hadn't protected her."

Teyla smiled, warmth creeping up her neck from embarrassment. "She is a beautiful little girl," she told Ronon. "I feared for her safety when I fell on top of her in the hall; I was hoping that I had gotten her down before the hall had collapsed."

Ronon nodded. "She's fine, neither she nor Jadin were injured." He scrubbed his hands over his face tiredly, looking ten years older than her own. "Both Kyana and Jadin are still scared to death. It's confirmed now, what you said. . .the Wraith must have sensed them and gotten into their minds, because both of them said that they could feel the Wraith's thoughts and see what the Wraith were seeing. Poor kids are still terrified."

Teyla felt a tinge of sympathy in her heart. "Was there any mental side effects of the Wraith being in their minds?"

Ronon shook his head. "Not that Beckett can tell. They'll just be having nightmares for a little while." He looked exhausted when he gazed at her again. "They're both still determined that you're their mother. They say they can sense you."

Teyla shook her head. "I do not understand it. If they can sense me, I should be able to sense them in some way, though I am not the Teyla of your reality, but I feel nothing."

Ronon nodded. "That's what's got me, too. Beckett's been running a whole long list of tests on both of them, but he can't figure out why they're reacting to you the way they are. As far as he can tell, there's nothing going on inside their minds or their bodies that should give them the ability to 'sense' you." He shrugged. "You look like their mother, and they are only two and a half years old, so maybe they only _think_ they're sensing you. They didn't say they did until they saw you, so that may have something to do with it."

"That is a lot of maybes," Teyla said grimly. "If only we knew for sure. . ."

She was interrupted by another quick knock on the door. Teyla, not having expected anyone else, called: "Who is it?"

"Mama!"

Ronon leaped to his feet with a Satedan curse. "Jadin and Kyana," he said, reaching out and opening the door to allow entrance to the little girl.

However, Kyana was not alone. As soon as the door opened Jadin was through the door and into his father's arms, and Kyana ducked around her father and leaped straight into Teyla's arms. "Keep them away, Mama," she muttered, crying, into Teyla's shoulder.

Teyla looked over Kyana's head of tangled dark hair to Ronon, who was trying to calm Jadin down. He shook his head, a confused look on his face. Apparently Jadin had said much the same thing, for he asked: "Jadin, keep who away?"

"The Wraith," both children said at the same time. "They're talking to us."

Teyla's blood chilled, and judging by the look on Ronon's face, he wasn't faring much better. Her natural first thought was that the Wraith were close enough to get a link with the children, but, according to Ronon, there was no Wraith in the immediate area and Beta Site was almost clear across the Pegasus galaxy from Alpha Site. On top of that, she couldn't sense them, so there couldn't be any around.

"Is it possible?" Ronon asked her. "Even though the Wraith aren't close. . .?"

Teyla shook her head, stroking Kyana's hair to try to calm the shaking girl. "I do not think so. I can sense nothing, so I believe that it is only a nightmare for both of them, perhaps an aftereffect of having the Wraith in their minds. The Wraith can only communicate in close proximity; not even a child's physiology would change that."

Ronon sat down again, his son's arms still around his neck in a near strangle hold. "Do you think, if the Wraith get close enough, they can mentally contact Jadin and Kyana again?"

Teyla swallowed hard and nodded, shifting Kyana so she could better wrap her arms around her. "It is probable. Until Kyana and Jadin are older and can better learn to put up mental blocks between their minds and the Wraith's, I fear that the children will continue to have their minds probed by our enemy."

Ronon closed his eyes, the news obviously disturbing him in the same way it had her. Teyla wrapped her arms a little tighter around Kyana and buried her face in the little girl's tumble of dark hair. _Why do such young children have to suffer. . .?_

_Beta Site_

Teyla woke early with the feel of a small, warm thing huddled against her side and a weight on her chest. Slowly opening her eyes, the sight of her temporary quarters on Beta Site came into view, and Teyla slowly began to remember what happened the night before.

Kyana was curled up against Teyla's side, her head resting on her chest and one small arm flung over the Athosian's stomach. There was a peaceful look of deep sleep on her face, and Teyla softly stroked a few strands of the little girl's dark hair off her face, careful enough as to not wake her. She was getting sleep that she desperately needed, and Teyla had a feeling that such a thing was hard to come by.

Ronon was still sitting in the same chair he'd occupied the night before, elbow propped against the arm of it and head resting in his hand. He was fast asleep, the worry lines that had wrinkled his forehead the night before smoothed away in sleep. Jadin was still perched on his father's lap, arms still loosely around Ronon's shoulders and head buried in the crook of Dex's neck. They made an adorable picture, and Teyla found herself smiling softly, briefly wondering if one day she might be able to wake in her own reality to such a picture, such a setting, only with the rough grey walls of the Beta Site's quarters replaced with the soft, swirling colors of her quarters back home on Atlantis.

The thought warmed her heart and brought a smooth pink blush to her cheeks. _I will be able to go home, I will see my friends. . .see my Ronon. . .again, and this time I will not hesitate to tell him how I really feel about him. . ._

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**Sorry for such a short chapter this time, but I promise that the next one will be longer. As I said, the updates for this story should be coming more often now that "Enduring Love" is finished. I hope you enjoyed, and check in tomorrow for the next chapter!**_


	6. Family Ties

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, pairings, warnings, etc.

Part 6/?

**SpaceMonkey0941**: Me too, in a way. Truthfully, that part wasn't in the original plan I had for "Superman," but it just kind of wrote itself in and I thought of a good way I could use it. . . I will (kind of) start to explain why Kyana and Jadin can sense Teyla in this chapter, though the full explanation isn't until much later. And yes, this story will go on for a long while longer. . .there is still much to do (insert evil laugh here. . .)! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Wraith named Michael**: I know you and your friends wouldn't be mean enough to get into little kids' minds like that, and that makes me happy. And as far as your friends on the Hive. . .I thought they were going to leave now that I've finished "Love"? LOL. I hope you like this chapter!

**Darkjewelledassassin**: Hi! As similar as the names were, some little part of my brain was wondering if you were the same person, but I didn't want to ask and seem like a total idiot (grin). Thank you so much, and don't worry, Ronon/Teyla and baby makes three will come soon enough, I promise. . .LOL (grin). Teyla's got to get home first, and she's got to go through the angst and the ouch and the. . .okay, yeah, you got the picture. BTW, thank you _so_ much for putting my stories in the R/T romance community! I am so incredibly wowed by that, it's so awesome! Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Stargatecrazy**: I love your screen name! Thank you so much for your review, and I'm glad you're liking it. There's no Sparky in this chapter, but I promise there will be some about halfway through the next chapter. While I admit that Sparky was my first (official) "Atlantis" ship, recently I've been on a major Teyla/Ronon kick and John and Elizabeth have been suffering slightly, I think they think they're being neglected (wink). I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I promise more Sparky in the next chapter!

**Chapter 5**

_Family Ties_

"I just can't figure out," Carson Beckett said, holding up his data pad and pointing at it with a confused expression on his face. "I mean, look at this! There's nothing in these children's physiology that would indicate an ability to sense you in any way."

"But they say they are sensing her," Ronon spoke from his place in the corner of Beckett's cramped office. "You say it's not medically possible, but yet they're sensing her."

Carson shrugged his shoulders and helplessly shook his head. "I nay can explain it, lad. All I know is that I've run almost every conceivable test on the both of them, and there's nothing! The ability to sense the Wraith, yes, things normal to children their ages, yes, but nothing that would support an ability to sense someone _human_!"

Teyla held up one hand. "One moment, Doctor. Let us return to their ability to sense the Wraith. . .is it possible that my Wraith DNA and theirs are allowing them to sense me?"

Beckett paused and considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "That makes no sense, lass, I'm sorry. If it was the Wraith physiology in ye, it should work both ways and you should be able to sense the wee ones in the same way they can sense you."

_Been here before._ Was it just her, or were they going around in circles trying to figure this out? Teyla pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "All right, then, so what now? They are young children, but I believe that it is not their imagination."

"Neither do I." Ronon withdrew from the shadows to stand next to Teyla. "We can never know if Jadin and Kyana would be able to sense their mother, but something is happening right now that is giving them an ability to sense Teyla. And I would like to know if that ability is dangerous to them, or to her."

Beckett looked startled; apparently this idea had not occurred to him. "And how do you suggest I go about that, lad? If I can't figure out what gives the children the ability in the first place, how do ye expect me to figure out whether it's harmful to them, any _or_ all of them?"

"That's your job," Ronon said. "Just let me know if you find anything." He touched Teyla's arm and then left the room, presumably to go gather Jadin and Kyana from their godmother before the two little bundles of energy wore her out.

Teyla looked at Carson and sighed. "I apologize. I can see where Ronon is coming from, but. . ."

"Me too, lass. Those two are adorable kids, and I nay want to see anything bad happen to them, either." He tiredly rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I'm workin' on it. I suppose for now that's the best I can do."

Teyla offered Beckett a soft smile and a "Thank you, Doctor" before turning and slipping out of the infirmary.

This was indeed a strange development. . .

_Beta Site_

"Are you sure you want me to come along?" Teyla questioned Colonel Sheppard as the two of them walked down the halls of Beta Site from the cafeteria to the control room. "I mean, I am not from this reality, and. . ."

Sheppard stopped and held up one hand. "Teyla, it's just standard recon. We've been to Gashbeck before, and the people there are nice. They've never seen you, or the other you, before, never even heard of you, so we won't have to worry about trying to explain you to a bunch of, shall we say, less technologically advanced aliens. Besides, aren't you getting cabin fever yet?"

Teyla was beginning to tire of constantly being cooped up inside the dull grey halls of Beta Site, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted to go off world. "What if the mirror activates and my people come looking for me?" she wanted to know.

Sheppard hesitated. "Okay, so I can completely understand if you don't want to go. But I just thought you would want to get off Beta Site for a while, breathe fresh air again, enjoy the views, the sounds. . . It'll only be for a couple of hours, no more. I promise."

It _would_ be nice to get away and pretend that everything was normal, if only for a couple of hours. . . "All right, Colonel. I will accompany you and your team to Gashbeck."

Colonel Sheppard grinned easily. "Excellent! Be in the Gateroom in a half hour, and dress for warm weather." He jogged off down the hall, leaving Teyla standing alone wondering if she'd made the right decision.

"You're comin' with us, then?"

Ronon's voice from directly behind her made her jump. "Ronon! How long have you been standing there?" Teyla turned and began to walk back to her quarters so she could ready herself for the mission ahead.

Dex settled into an easy stride next to her. "Not long, just long enough to hear Sheppard finally wear you down. It'll be nice to have you come off world with us, you know. We've all missed you, and the team hasn't been the same with only three people. . ." He trailed off for a long retrospective moment, then blinked and spoke again. "It will be nice."

"I have missed going off world. I know it has only been a couple of days since I arrived here, but. . ." She shrugged. "I do not know, but perhaps I just want things to be normal for a little while. Going off world with you, Doctor McKay, and Colonel Sheppard will make it feel normal. My leg feels much better today, and like the colonel said, it will only be a couple of hours, so what can go wrong?"

Ronon looked at her, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. "You're right," he finally said. "And it will be nice for things to seem normal again, if only for a little while. . ."

They were at her door, and Ronon offered her a weak grin. "See you at the Gateroom?"

"I will be there." Teyla turned and entered her quarters, wondering if there were still moments when Ronon looked at her and saw his dead wife. He had said that it would be nice to think that things were normal again. . .

Teyla shook her head. It had only been a few days since she'd been unwillingly dumped into this reality, but she was already beginning to wonder if her people were looking for her. She knew she had to give them time, but how hard could it possibly be to figure out one little alternate reality mirror?

_Atlantis_

"Work!" The word was followed by a string of expletives, ones that ushered Ronon into the room on the double, just in case McKay had accidentally triggered something he shouldn't have.

Dex needn't have worried. The frazzled scientist was standing in front of the alternate reality mirror, his face red, eyes bulging, and a small nail file brandished in one hand. It looked almost as though he was ready to do battle instead of fix the mirror.

"Not going well?" he asked dryly, nonchalantly taking in the scene before him. Even if the mirror still wasn't working, the look on McKay's face was absolutely hilarious. . .

Rodney spun around and leveled a glare on Ronon. "Would you like to try?" he snarled. "I still think this stupid thing is broken! Everyone asks me to do the impossible, and then when I can't, they get mad at me for it!"

Dex was becoming quite accustomed to McKay's frequent outbursts: he'd endured at least twenty since bringing the mirror to Atlantis in the first place. "It was on, we know it had to have worked. Just find the on switch."

"How?" McKay growled through clenched teeth.

"I don't know. . .kick it or something."

Rodney stepped back. "Be my guest, Rambo."

"I didn't mean it literally. But I've learned that almost everything is fixable if you try hard enough and work long enough." Okay, so he was getting desperate to find Teyla. After the dreams he'd been having, who could blame him?

McKay sighed, all the fight seeming to drain out of him. "Look, Ronon, I want to find Teyla as much. . .ah, _almost_ as much as you do. But I can't find the on button for this thing, and I'm not for sure that it even works right in the first place. And even if. . ._when_. . .we get it turned on, there's still the matter that it won't land on the right reality straight off. There's thousands, maybe even millions, of realities out there, and we have no way of knowing which one is the one Teyla's in."

Ronon rubbed his hands over his face, feeling as though his brain had just been loaded with completely useless information. "Tell you what, how about you work on turning it on first, then we worry about which reality's the right one?"

Rodney looked surprised. "Well. . .yeah. I suppose you're right." He turned back to the mirror, muttered something about Zelenka, and then went back to trying to find the on switch for the mirror.

Ronon turned and left the lab, wondering how much longer it would be before they finally got that mirror fixed, Teyla back, and life normal again. . .

_Gashbeck_

Colonel Sheppard had been right when he said it would be nice to get off Beta Site for a while. The feel of a warm summer's breeze against her face and the wonderful smells of nature made her feel at home in a way she hadn't been since coming to this reality.

Ahead of her, Colonel Sheppard and Doctor McKay silently trudged along the dirt trail leading from the Stargate to the village. Next to her, Ronon seemed relaxed but she knew he was really alert, looking for any possible dangers to any of them though the people of Gashbeck were peaceful farmers, much like the Athosians.

"Welcome to Gashbeck," John called to her over his shoulder as some strange bird hooted from across the trees. "The wildlife around here is a little strange, but trust me, but nothing's harmful and you'll get used to the noises in a little while." He fell silent again, and they continued their mile walk through the scenic woods to the small village, where John said they'd be welcomed like heroes and immediately offered cups of brew (that should be denied immediately, it was so strong it would knock a person out after two sips).

As they at last approached the edge of the woods and thus the village, Teyla paused. _What happened to the birds?_

Ronon stopped next to her, seeming to realize the same thing. "No birds."

Teyla nodded. "They stopped singing. I had never even realized. . ." She stopped abruptly, eyes widening as a cold feeling slithered through her. "Oh, no," she whispered.

Ronon grabbed her upper arms, forcing her attention to him. "Teyla, are you all right? What's going on?" The look in his eyes spelled dread and fear; it was obvious he recognized her reaction, knew what it meant, and that he was desperately hoping that it wasn't what he knew it was.

Teyla swallowed hard and reached for her weapon as the first drone of a Dart reached their ears. "_Wraith_!"

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**Please don't kill me, please don't kill me. . . Next chapter tomorrow! Hope you enjoyed!**_


	7. Captured

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, pairings, rating, warnings, etc.

Part 7/?

**Stargatecrazy**: Thank you! And yes, there will be some Sparky in our reality as well. (How can I seriously resist, LOL?) Here's the update, and I hope you enjoy it. . .

**SpaceMonkey0941**: Like my mother says, set a hook and keep 'em comin' back! LOL I loved your review! Forgive me, please? (runs and hides) I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Wraith named Michael**: Thank you! Yes, the Wraith always come just when things are happy and normal and. . . At least you don't do things like that, right? LOL I hope you (and your friends, of course) enjoy this chapter!

**Thedummie2**: WOW! Thank you! Here's the next chapter. . . Hope you enjoy!

Author's note: Some Sparky in this chapter, from both realities. And of course there's a lot of Teyla, too. . . I hope you all enjoy!

**Chapter 6**

_Captured_

Elizabeth leaned against the railing on the balcony she'd come to think of as hers, her small escape just off the control room that offered her a quiet sanctuary from the rigors of Atlantis.

However, today there was no peace as she escaped; there was only turmoil in her heart and the hearts of her people. Teyla Emmagan was missing, vanished through an alternate reality mirror that no longer was functioning properly, or at least not on. McKay seemed to think that there was definitely a power button on it somewhere, but said that he was seriously beginning to think that he wasn't going to find it.

Elizabeth hadn't wanted to hear that, and neither had Ronon, apparently. He'd gone storming off somewhere into the far reaches of the city and no one had seen him since. There was a single life sign out near the northwest pier, but no one dared go disturb him. When he had cooled off and wanted to return, he would. For now, it was best to leave him alone.

The door slipping open behind her interrupted her thoughts and she turned, watching as John hovered uncertainly in the doorway. He looked like he wanted to come out, but wasn't sure if he was disturbing her or not.

"John," she greeted quietly, the name an invitation in itself.

Sheppard came out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing next to her, staring with her out over the sun bathed ocean. "Such a beautiful day," he said quietly, retrospectively. "Too bad we can't fully enjoy it."

Elizabeth glanced over at John. "Ronon back yet?"

He shook his head. "He hasn't moved. Don't know what he's doing out there, but I figure to leave him alone for a couple more hours at least. If he's not back by afternoon I'll go out and see if I can bring him back, at the risk of a few broken bones."

Weir managed a smile. "I'm sure Ronon has calmed down by now."

John hesitated, weighing his words before saying them. "This is probably me overreacting, but I've wondered for a while if there was something going on between Ronon and Teyla. Now I'm beginning to wonder. I'm not going to pry, but. . ."

Elizabeth nodded. "I have as well, and especially now it _seems_ obvious." She shook her head. "Even if there is something going on, as long as they don't let it effect their duties I can say I honestly don't mind. We do a very dangerous job here, where something can go wrong in the blink of an eye." She looked over at John and smiled slightly. "Who am I to keep people from having some peace and happiness in the midst of constant danger?"

John wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. "And as long as the IOA never finds out, it can stay that way."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and rested her forehead in the crook of John's neck. "We'll just have to make sure they don't." She tightened her arms around Sheppard's waist as a single desperate, piercing thought entered her mind: _John, please don't ever leave me. . ._

_Gashbeck_

"Cover!"

Teyla slipped back into the woods at Sheppard's call, wishing she had something more powerful than a P90 in her hands. The buzz of the approaching Darts were growing louder in perfect sync with the tight feeling in her stomach.

The first screams from the village reached their ears at the moment that the first Dart came into view. People were running from the village towards the woods, scattering through the trees like mist into the darkness, Darts peeling off from the main concentration to follow a few of them.

One of them turned to follow a group of people that were running straight towards Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, and McKay, its sleek black body looking like some powerful weapon as it zeroed in on them.

Sheppard muttered a curse. "Everybody scatter!"

Teyla pivoted and took off in a ninety degree angle to the Stargate, hearing the other three members of her temporary team slipping off in angles to her. One target may be easier to follow, but when there were a lot of single targets scattering in different directions, it was harder to figure out which one to follow.

For a few moments the sounds of the Dart faded, and Teyla thought she was safe. But then the buzz grew louder again, and the feeling in her stomach tightened. _Not good._

She ducked to her right, back in the direction of the Stargate, attempting to lose the Dart in the shadows of the woods. However, the Wraith ship turned with her and continued to pursue her, drawing closer even though she was running as fast as she safely could.

_I can make it._ The mantra pounded through her head in tandem with her running feet, fueling her on and giving her another infusion of adrenaline that helped her pick up speed.

_I can make it. I know I can. . . I have to._ Teyla gritted her teeth, clenched her hands into fists, and ran faster, breath whooshing past her lips in great heaving gasps. _I have to make it, I have to go back to Beta Site, because my people are going to come for me and I am going to go home. . ._

Pain flared through her and, right before her entire world blanked, her last thought was of her home, and the ones she loved that she'd never see again. . .

_Gashbeck_

"Where is she?" Ronon demanded in a low growl, his gaze taking in the devastation of the Gashbeck village.

Sheppard, standing next to him, was scanning the place with an expression of sorrow on his face and in his eyes. "I don't know. We all scattered and that was the last time I saw her."

The Wraith Darts had left after culling almost half the village's population. Ronon, Rodney, and John had all rendezvoused back at the threshold to the woods, but Teyla had not been there. It had now been almost fifteen minutes, and she still had not arrived.

This, in Ronon's mind, equaled only one thing: she had to have been taken by the Wraith. It was the only explanation.

"Wraith," Rodney said from where he was walking back to the other two from talking to one of the villagers. "Neesa over there escaped into the woods as well. She saw a woman matching Teyla's description running through the woods, a Dart right behind her. It scooped her up and then headed for the Gate."

Ronon's hands curled into fists. "They're going to pay for what they've done here today."

Sheppard grabbed Dex's arm to keep him from running full tilt to the Stargate and dialing the first Wraith occupied planet that came to mind as he said to McKay: "I don't suppose this young woman saw the coordinates the Stargate dialed when the Wraith left?"

Rodney shook his head, obviously disappointed. "I asked. She said she didn't, because she ran in the opposite direction when she saw that the Wraith were going that way."

Ronon's hand slipped to the grip of his blaster of its own accord. "So how else can we track the Wraith, find her, and get her back?"

McKay shook his head. "You're not getting my point, Ronon. Without Stargate coordinates, there is no way we can know which occupied planet she was taken to. And without knowing that, there's no way we're going to be able to find her. I'm sorry, Ronon, but she's gone."

Dex stubbornly shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. The Wraith took my Teyla away from me, away from Kyana and Jadin, but they are _not_ going to get away with taking this one from her people. I don't care how long I have to look, how many Wraith planets I have to destroy and how many of those _monsters_ I have to kill, I am going to find her and I am going to bring her back."

McKay and Sheppard traded a loaded glance before John spoke. "Buddy, we know at least a little of how you feel, trust me. But without Stargate coordinates, without even a _ballpark estimate_ of where Teyla is, there is no way we will be able to find her in time."

Ronon dragged his hands down his face to keep from completely losing it with his friend. "Sheppard, the Wraith sometimes keep their prey for _years_ before they feed; I've seen it before when I was taken to be a Runner."

"And Teyla's people are a favorite snack for the Wraith, or have you forgotten _that_?" John sighed and rubbed his eyes with a hand. "Look, Ronon, if it were Elizabeth, or an alternate Elizabeth, I know I would feel the exact same way as you are right now. But there is absolutely nothing we can do, and even if there was standing around here fighting about it is going to do nothing to get her rescued."

Ronon closed his eyes and allowed his anger to deflate. "I know you're right, Sheppard," he said. "But how can I just let her go when I made a promise, to both her and myself, that I would help her get back home to her people?"

_Beta Site_

"She was depending on us, John, and we let her down."

John sighed and knelt next to his wife's wheelchair. "Elizabeth. . ."

His wife held up one hand sharply to stop him. "I know what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it. There is nothing you can do to condone the Wraith's actions, and there is nothing you can say to me to make me feel better about what happened. One day, maybe not soon, but _one day_ the people who care for Teyla will come here from her reality looking for her to take her back home, and what will we tell them? We will be forced to tell them that we foolishly lost her, that the Wraith insidiously fed on her and that we did nothing to stop it."

"Elizabeth, there's nothing we _can_ do! It's like I told Ronon, without coordinates to the Stargate or an approximate area to search, it would be looking for a needle in a giant, intergalactic haystack!" He wasn't honestly trying to be negative, he was just looking at the situation from a militaristic standpoint and there was no answer, no hope, for Teyla, or them.

Elizabeth released the breaks and wheeled her chair around him and towards the door. "Tell me, John, did that stop you when I was taken three years ago? Did that keep you from coming after me, saving me, despite the fact that it seemed hopeless?"

Sheppard looked away from his wife's intense gaze, knowing she was right. He hadn't known coordinates then, just like now, but he had still found her.

Her gaze softened slightly, and she reached out a hand to touch his face. "John, I'm sorry. I know this is rough on you: it's been rough on all of us. I didn't mean to make it worse. All I am trying to say is that there _is_ still hope, as slim as it may be. We still have a chance to find her, and that is what we have to do." She leaned forward and kissed him tenderly, love and confidence in her eyes. "I have faith in you, John. All of our people do. And I know that Teyla, wherever she is, has faith in you as well."

John wrapped his arms around Elizabeth and buried his face in her neck. "I just hope that faith isn't misplaced," he whispered. "I hope you're right."

_Wraith Hive_

Teyla slowly woke, her limbs heavy and a throbbing ache behind her eyes. Moaning softly, she slitted her eyes open, met with the dim bluish lights of a Wraith Hive ship.

"What the. . ." She tried to move, but something was holding her limbs immobile, something as cold, hard, and unmoving as the surface she was laying facedown on. Sheer terror slithered through her, mixing with the cold, slimy sense of the Wraith in the pit of her stomach. _No, it cannot be. Please. . ._

A hiss from her left made her jump and instinctively flinch. "You have finally awakened," a Wraith voice growled as it came into her sideways view. "I was beginning to think I would have to force you to wake."

Teyla winced at the rancid stench that filled the room as he spoke. Death hung heavily on the air, laced with the fear she felt, and her stomach lurched uncomfortably. "Die, you pathetic excuse for a living being," she said and wrenched her neck around so she could spit in its face.

The Wraith calmly wiped his face and continued to eye her with a frightening gleam in his eyes. "You humans are so amusing," he said, shaking his head of tangled white hair. "Always think you are so superior. That is what makes the hunt so much fun."

Teyla swallowed back the bile biting at the back of her throat and forced her voice not to quiver when she spoke again. "You can do whatever you want to me, but I promise you that you will not live to regret this action," she vowed, acidic hate dripping from her tone.

A sickening smile curled the Wraith's lips upwards and revealed its fangs. "Perhaps that is true," he said, leaning over and revealing the sharp, gleaming scalpel in his hand. "But until that day, I shall enjoy watching you run in terror from me and my kind."

As the cold, sharp edge of the Wraith's scalpel bit into the skin of her back, Teyla clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth tightly. A moan of anguish still escaped her lips, however, as tears coursed down her cheeks as the horrific realization of what she had now become was sealed as the Wraith slipped the tracking device into her back.

She was now a Runner.

_To Be Continued. . ._

**_Please don't kill me. . .please don't kill me. . . I'm sorry this chapter is so late, but I promise I'll get the next one up tomorrow! So please spare me? And this was written in a bit of a hurry in an attempt to get it out, so I apologize for any mistakes there may be._**


	8. A Runner's Life

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 8/?

**Wraith named Michael**: Don't worry, none of those comments were aimed at you (or your friends). I know you and your Hive of friends wouldn't be mean enough to turn someone into a Runner, and I know now that all Wraith aren't what Teyla said. And I'm glad the twist turned out to be a twist. . .I was afraid everyone would see that one coming a mile away. BTW, I'm sorry I didn't post an alert for this chapter on Gateworld, but when I tried it said that it was down for maintenance or something. And here's the update. . . I hope you enjoy!

**SpaceMonkey0941**: No, not kidding, sorry! Yes, her day is getting better, believe it or not. And I promise, here's the update as quickly as I could get it to you (stupid math test, gr), and please, please, _please_ don't turn me over to Wraith named Michael and his friends. . .if you do, you won't get the conclusion of the story, right? I hope you enjoy this chapter (uh, please?), and please don't kill me. . .I beg you. . .

**Thedummie2**: Please don't! Please don't! I did it because I wanted a plot twist that hopefully no one saw coming. . .and plus, Teyla had to go through _something_ bad before she could go home to her Ronon and everything happy and familiar, right? And is this fast enough, am I safe now? LOL I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Stargatecrazy**: Thanks! And as far as going back to the Beta Site. . .not a good idea. The Atlantians are trying to hide from the Wraith, for now, and Teyla's having to run from the Wraith and keep them away from Beta. I admit that I thought about her going back to Beta Site, but then I thought about the Wraith factor and thought not such a good idea. But don't worry, I promise to fix it! I'm glad you liked the Ronon/Teyla, and the Sparky. It's fun to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!

**Chapter 7**

_A Runner's Life_

Ronon battered the punching bag before him with all his energy, muttering something with each hit. "The Wraith killed my wife. . . The Wraith took away my children's mother. . . The Wraith destroyed Atlantis. . . The Wraith have tortured my children. . . The Wraith have taken Teyla. . ."

"What did the punching bag ever do to you?"

Dex looked up at Sheppard, who was lounging in the doorway of the gym. "Nothing. Just felt like beating up on something that wasn't human." He took one more swing at the bag and felt satisfaction as it swung away from him a good few feet. "Or, at least I figured you'd appreciate it since you're the one I usually beat up on when we spar."

Sheppard rubbed his shoulder and nodded. "Yes, very much appreciated, thank you." He pushed off from the edge of the doorway and fully entered the gym. "Want to talk about it?"

Ronon paused, his water bottle halfway to his lips. "Not really."

The colonel picked up one of the polished Bantos rods from its holder against the far wall and examined it like a pool cue. "Elizabeth authorized us to keep an eye open for anything when we go offworld next time. And that doesn't mean we have to stop asking questions."

Dex sighed and capped off the bottle. "What good are questions going to do us, unless we capture a Wraith and decide to do a little question and answer session?" The gleam in his eye said that he wouldn't mind that at all.

John put back the rod and crossed his arms. "Look, Ronon, we're going to get her back. I don't pretend to know how, but we will. We have to."

"Has McKay figured out that mirror yet?" Ronon questioned, changing the subject abruptly. He didn't want to talk about Teyla any more, it still hurt. He should have been able to protect her, but he had failed her, just like he'd failed his own Teyla.

John blinked in surprise but didn't try to return to the previous subject. "No, he hasn't. He said he's starting to wonder if it even works in the first place, or if it was just an accident that Teyla was dumped here."

"We know it was an accident," Ronon pointed out. "But I know what you mean."

"He says that he's sure we need the remote, if not to turn it on then to switch realities. It's like a fancy Ancient TV set, I guess."

"Don't suppose he has any idea where to find the remote?"

John shrugged. "I told him to go look under the couch cushions, but he glared and then threw a wrench at me. I suppose he's not exactly in the mood for jokes right now. None of us are." He rubbed his hands through his hair, messing it up even more. "Look, Ronon, we all need some sleep. Things will look better in the morning."

"If you say so." Ronon tossed his towel over his shoulder and headed for the door. "Let's both hope for a better morning."

_Unknown planet_

A belt knife and a Wraith stunner. She was supposed to defend herself with merely that?

Teyla crouched in the entrance of a cave on the first planet she'd gated to, trying to figure out how to defeat her enemy when all she had was her belt knife and a Wraith stunner. She knew she would have to be creative to beat her pursuers, but this was almost asking too much. The hand held stunner she could work with. . .perhaps that would knock the Wraith out long enough for her to drive the knife into a vital organ and kill the Wraith. But it wouldn't take long for them to figure out what she was doing and counteract her attacks, so she _had_ to come up with something more creative.

That brought her problem round again. She needed more weapons, more powerful weapons, and she needed to set traps somehow. But how, and with what?

She tried to remember every last detail of the little her Ronon had told her of his time as a Runner. It wasn't much, but surely she could work something out with the knowledge he'd shared with her.

She could do this. She _had_ to do this, because she had to get back home to the people she cared for. . .to Ronon.

_Wraith._ Teyla swallowed back the feeling in her stomach and pulled out the stunner she'd been given, drawing back slightly into the shadows and taking aim. As soon as she saw her pursuer's shadow across the mouth of the cave, she'd fire. . .

The footsteps crept closer, soft against the forest floor. Teyla knew that she was at a disadvantage in two ways: one, the Wraith had a device to track her, and two, they could sense her in the same way she could sense them. While that was a slight inconvenience, she'd just have to work around it and hope that she was smarter than her pursuers.

The thin stream of sunlight trickling into the cave abruptly vanished, and a pair of feral green eyes peered into the cave as a hiss of displeasure whooshed past his fangs.

She attacked, firing the stunner as, at the same moment, she yanked her belt knife from its sheath at her waist and dove for the Wraith, using what she hoped was her element of surprise and her adrenaline rush to knock him off balance.

Either the Wraith had figured out her plans a split second before she executed them or her aim was poor, because her pursuer was still very conscious as she dove on top of him, knife poised to plunge into his throat. He grabbed her hand and twisted his hips, rolling her onto her back so he was on top of her.

Teyla groaned with pain and used both hands to clamp around the knife, breath coming in sharp snatches as she watched that deadly silver blade slowly turn from the Wraith and towards her, lowering closer and closer to her unprotected heart. _Give me strength. . ._ She gritted her teeth and pushed against the force the powerful Wraith was exerting on her knife, slowly managing to slowly turn the blade back towards the Wraith.

Her attacker hissed angrily and used his free hand to hit her across the face, probably hoping that it would surprise her and make her loosen her grip. His move, however, only made Teyla angrier, and she growled low in her throat as she pushed her back harder against the ground to brace herself and thrust the knife into the Wraith's throat with as much strength and vengeance as she could muster.

He choked, his eyes showing shock, then anger, and finally fear before they darkened in death as he slumped sideways off of her.

Teyla rolled over onto her side and spat out the blood that had pooled in her mouth, sure that the hit had knocked at least two teeth loose. Thankfully, her jaw was sore but not broken; she'd be fine in a couple of days. The only thing she was concerned about was the wound on her back from where the Wraith had inserted the tracking device; it was very tender and sore and she hoped that squirming around on the ground hadn't opened it and that she wasn't bleeding. However, she had nothing to bandage it with and no way to reach it to stop the bleeding even if she did have something, so all she could do was hope that it wasn't.

She used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe her mouth before yanking her knife free, cleaning it on the Wraith's jacket before slipping it back into its sheath. Then she proceeded to check her dead hunter for any other weapons that could be of use to her. She found a hand held stunner, which she discarded; two shock grenades that she tucked away for later use; and the most interesting of all, a long, wicked looking sword that vaguely reminded her of Ronon's. She stood, measuring it in her hand as she tested its weight and precision. It was a little heavy, but it had a deadly blade and she knew that she would grow used to the weight and bulkiness.

With a pleased grin, she slipped the sheath off the Wraith's shoulders and secured it around her own, returning the sword to safety as she stood and headed back in the direction of the Stargate.

Next time, she wouldn't be caught off guard.

_Beta Site_

Ronon lay awake in bed that night, staring up at the dark ceiling above him as the sounds of his children breathing across the room offered the least little measure of comfort. They had been sleeping peacefully for the past couple of nights, and he was sure that their encounter with the Wraith was slowly easing out of their minds.

It was a slight reprieve from the swirling thoughts in his mind: at least Kyana and Jadin weren't suffering. Teyla, however. . .

Dex quickly swiped a hand over his eyes to erase the image that had popped to the forefront of his mind. He'd seen people be fed on before, both on Sateda during the battle and on the Hive ship he'd been taken to after being captured—in fact, the Wraith had even tried to feed on him once, though with little success. It wasn't a pleasant sight or feeling, and the thought that Teyla was going through that horrific torture at that very moment made him sick inside.

Granted, she wasn't his Teyla, she never had been and she never would be. His wife was dead, killed by the Wraith when they had attacked Atlantis. But this Teyla was so much like her, alike in the way she moved, the way she spoke, the way she smiled. He had silently vowed to himself to protect her until her people could find her and come for her, and now he'd broken that vow. He had lost her to the Wraith, and now he was beginning to think that he'd never even deserved his own Teyla in the first place. How could he have? Her love had been a slight reprieve that was there and then gone, lost to the same enemy that had taken his home, both of them, his freedom, his love, and, in some ways, his heart.

This Teyla, foreign to his reality, had cracked the walls around his heart in a way only his children had before. She had made him smile again, laugh, see the world again in the way he had used to. She'd taught him to hope again, to see that there was a chance to destroy the Wraith. Perhaps it wasn't within his grasp at the moment, but it was out there somewhere, waiting until the exact right moment to manifest itself. She was so different from his Teyla, yet so much the same: a warrior and a healer, a friend and a teacher. How could he have lost her, when she wasn't even his to lose?

He had to find her. Alive or dead, injured or in perfect health, just so he'd _know_. He had to know, had to find her and had to bring her home, even if it was, as painful as the thought was, a withered shell in a body bag, a shadow of what she used to be. Maybe it would give his tormented heart and mind a slight reprieve, if only for a little while before the pain, the hurt, the anger started eating away at him again. . .

_She's alive somewhere_, he told himself. _She's alive, and she's waiting for someone to help her._ _And I'm going to find her, and I'm going to bring her back here so she can go home. I don't care how, but I'm going to. I promise._

_To Be Continued. . ._

**_Was that as bad a cliffie? I hope it wasn't, because I'm starting to feel a bit nervous after all the death threats I received because of the last one, LOL. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the next one should be out tomorrow!_**


	9. Heart's Cry

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 9/?

**Darkjewelledassassin**: Heh, now I'm embarrassed. (cheeks turn red) Honestly I hadn't thought about the kids being able to sense her helping to save her (oh, the price to pay of having three plots for three different stories in one's head, all at once. . .), I had thought of a different way to have them find Teyla, but I honestly like yours better. . . (runs off to write) Thank you for the inspiration, the review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**SpaceMonkey0941**: (wipes brow in relief) Thank you! To quite Stitch: "Me like cute and _fluffy_!" LOL. I especially like fluff when Ronon and Teyla are involved (evil grin and twirls fake mustache). I hope you like this chapter, too!

**Wavscaper**: Thank you! I feel the same way. . .Teyla and Ronon are constantly being either ignored or neglected, or both, and I think they're the most adorable couple to hit the TV screen, so I've officially made them my main ship (sh, don't tell my best friend, who's a Sparky first and foremost! She also ships Ronon/Teyla, but not as much, but I suppose that's beside the point.) and have started writing oodles of stuff about them (and we won't mention the new plot bunny in my head right at this moment that I had to go write first so I could concentrate on this. . .LOL). I'm glad you liked, and I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!

**Wraith named Michael**: You really are a very nice Wraith, aren't you? And all through my math test yesterday I felt your friends' eyes on me. . .thought I even saw one lurking in the door of my classroom once, or was that just my stressed mind? LOL And yes, poor Ronon. The poor guy's had a rough time, but I promise I'll make it better. . .eventually. Hope you and your friends enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 8**

_Heart's Cry_

Teyla hissed softly in pain as she clumsily wrapped the long gash on her upper arm, hoping that her meager effort to cleanse it and wrap it would be enough to stave off infection. After yet another close call with the Wraith, she had found herself shaken and injured, and wishing for home and everything familiar.

Now she knew how Ronon felt for all those years, forced to run for his very life as he fought back against a seemingly unbeatable enemy. Now she could understand him in a way she hadn't been able to before, understood on yet an even deeper level his hatred for the Wraith and his personal vendetta against all of them.

Teyla completed the dressing on her arm and gingerly pulled her jacket back on to lessen some of the chill against her bare arms as she held out her hands towards the fire she'd managed to build to ward off at least some of the chill, if not in her heart than at least in her body.

How she wished for home. For her quarters on Atlantis; the sun bathed gym; the mainland and her people; her team; most of all for her Ronon. She had to see him again, had to tell him what she had just begun to figure out when this whole nightmare started and what her experiences here had made her fully pay attention to.

She had to tell him that she was beginning to love him before it was too late for either of them.

Teyla curled tighter into her jacket and buried her face in her hands, wanting to cry but knowing she couldn't. If she started to cry, she didn't think she would ever be able to stop, and then she would give up.

And giving up was the one thing she couldn't afford to do.

_Atlantis_

"Want to talk about it?"

Ronon looked up from where he was absently moving his food around his plate with his fork, surprised that Sheppard had come up on him without his noticing. "Not really."

The colonel didn't seem to take the rather obvious hint, instead setting his tray down across from Ronon's and sitting down. "Ronon, there's times when you have to be silent and there's times when you have to share. I'm thinkin' that this is one of the latter."

Ronon allowed his fork to clatter noisily to his plate and dragged his long hands down his face. "Sheppard, I _don't want to talk about it._ How many times do I have to say it?"

"At least once more." Sheppard didn't miss a beat. "McKay thinks he's close to finding the on switch, whether that's his definition of close or mine, I have no clue. It's a step in the right direction, at the least."

Ronon shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Yes, but even once we get it on we still don't have the remote to switch realities. No matter how you look at it we're still losing this battle."

John blinked. "Since when did this escalate into a battle?" he wanted to know.

"Since Teyla got sent to who knows where and we're stuck here with a chunk of rock and no way to get to her." His own directness surprised him, but he wasn't going to take back his words. They were nothing but the truth.

Sheppard sighed. "We will get her back, Ronon. I won't pretend to know how we will, but somehow, someway, we will."

Ronon rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. _I am so tired. . ._ "I hope you're right, Sheppard. I really do hope you are."

The colonel looked at Ronon intently for a long moment, a serious expression on his face and in his eyes. "You love her, don't you?"

Dex looked up sharply at John, surprise slamming through him like a jolt of electricity. _Do I?_ "What makes you ask that?"

"Intuition. Plus it's written across your face like an open book, well, if you look past the insomniac dark circles around your eyes. I'm in love too, Ronon, and I know what it looks like. I see it in the mirror every morning, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. And that's how I look when Elizabeth's not around." Sheppard leaned across the table and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Look, Ronon, you may not believe me, I don't care if you do or not. But listen to your heart. What's it saying to you?"

Ronon abruptly pushed away from the table and stalked out of the room, unable to face Sheppard and the truth that had just slapped him across the face. _I do love her. Why is it that a tragedy always has to happen to make us realize just how much we care?_

He kept walking, ignoring the odd looks people gave him, until he reached the empty gym. He and Teyla had been here only a week ago, play fighting, laughing, having a good time. . .

Flirting.

Ronon put his back against the wall and slid down it, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the object he'd nearly forgotten about, the one he'd slipped away from Teyla to purchase on Theroona what seemed like forever ago. A necklace, one with a small silver charm shaped like a flower with a polished green jewel in the center, dangling from a delicately braided cord. It was a gift for Teyla's birthday, now only six days away and coming fast. Now, looking at it and admiring the way the jewel sparkled like fire on ice in the rays of sunlight streaming in the window, he had to wonder if he would ever be able to give it to her. It didn't have to be her birthday anymore, it was more than that.

He had to find her, had to bring her back home if only long enough to give her this necklace, his heart, and to tell her how much he loved her.

_Unknown planet_

Teyla snapped awake suddenly, rubbing her eyes against the remnants of the dream she'd been involved in. It had been pleasant, that was all she could remember about it, and that was only possible because of the warm feeling in her heart.

Careful not to roll onto her back or sore arm, Teyla sat up and ran her hands through her dirty and tangled hair. _Ronon. . ._

She curled into a fetal position and buried her face in her arms. _I miss you._ The warmth in her heart was replaced with a gnawing ache, one that ate away at her insides and brought tears to her eyes. _Please, I just want to see him again long enough to tell him that I know now, that I _know_ I love him. I don't care if he feels the same, I don't care if he shoots me down, I just _have_ to tell him._ She quickly swiped at the tears, desperate to keep them back. _He has to know. . ._

Teyla raised her tear streaked face to the heavens, and whispered four small words that she hoped Ronon could hear despite their seemingly impenetrable reality barrier: "Ronon, I love you. . ."

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**I know that chapter was short, but we start getting more action next one, I promise! Check back tomorrow!**_


	10. A Lead

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, etc.

Part 10/?

**Darkjewelledassassin**: Thank you! And yes, I really do like your idea, I'm really glad you think out loud, LOL! I hope you enjoy this chapter, too. . .

**Wraith named Michael**: Thank you! And me too. At least they've realized it now. . .that's half the battle won right there. Just watch out for the satellites. . .I can see the headlines now, "Fanfic Writer Is Blamed for Alien Space Ship In Orbit." LOL. Hope you enjoy this chapter, too!

**Stargatecrazy**: Thank you! I was hoping the angst factor would turn out on screen the way it did in my head. . .I guess it did. Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**SpaceMonkey0941**: Yes, it is quite annoying, isn't it? It's just like a slap in the face, and when they're together constantly they don't really stop to look at how much they mean to each other. I suppose it's just a fact of life, or at least TV. . . LOL. Yes, I know exactly what to do, and here is the next chapter. . . I hope you enjoy!

**There is a spoiler for the third season episode "Sateda" in this chapter!**

Author's note: Things _start_ to be set right again in this chapter, but the story is definitely far from over. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please don't kill me!

**Chapter 9**

_A Lead_

It had been five days now since Teyla had been taken, five long, agonizing days that had left Ronon exhausted and at the very end of his patience. It felt as though they'd been searching forever, been to nearly every planet in the galaxy, but he knew there were still thousands left unsearched. Sheppard and McKay had stuck by his side, helping him search on whatever planet they went to next for supplies, or just to visit, an excuse for a search.

They had turned up nothing.

Other teams were going out too, keeping their eyes open for anything or anyone who might have information about the Athosian woman and her fate. They asked questions, both subtly and pointedly, but no one knew of her, no one seemed interested or held hope.

He was beginning to think that it was pointless, that she would never be found.

Ronon sat quietly at the edge of a small creek on the next planet on the list, staring glumly at the rushing blue water and wondering why he was seriously considering giving up. He'd promised himself that he'd find her, and get her back to her home, but here he was considering giving up and just settling with clinging to the little bit of joy she had brought back into his life. After all, Jadin and Kyana needed him, they were very young and needed their father. He couldn't constantly be off searching for a woman that wasn't even his Teyla.

But still, he couldn't give up, if for no other reason than he had to get her back to her Ronon, to give them the chance that had been torn away from his and his Teyla. . .

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the locket he'd given to Kyana. She'd given it back to him, saying that maybe a picture of her would help him to find her again. Truthfully Ronon had thought of it himself but hadn't wanted to take the locket back from his little girl, since that was all she had of her mother.

Ronon ran his thumb over the beautiful and intricate engraved design on the front of the locket before opening the front and gazing at the smiling face of the woman in the picture within. She was so happy in that picture, so at peace. . . It made him wonder what had ever gone wrong, what they'd ever _done_ wrong, to deserve what had happened.

Why she had to have died.

"I've seen her before."

Ronon jumped and catapulted to his feet, hand reaching for his weapon as he spun to face the person who had spoken.

A short man with graying hair and squinty eyes leaped back, eyes wide. "Don't shoot!" he cried.

Ronon blinked and slowly holstered his weapon again, trying to even his breathing. "What are you doing here?"

The little man held up a pail. "Coming to get some water," he said. "Saw you sitting here and wondered what was in your hands. Looked over your shoulder and saw the picture." He pointed to the locket. "I've seen her before, couple of days ago."

Ronon's heart nearly leaped into his throat. "You did?" He had been hoping that Teyla was still alive, that she had somehow escaped the Wraith, but that had not prepared him for this.

His unexpected visitor nodded. "Went to an uninhabited world two days ago to get an herb that grows there, on account I needed it for a stew. Saw that lady there come barreling through the Ring like the Wraith was chasing her, and whattaya know but they were. Two of 'em followed her out. Few minutes later she came back to the Ring and left. Found the two Wraith off a bit into the woods, both dead. Sword through the heart by the looks of 'em."

Ronon blinked and swallowed hard. _They turned her into a Runner._ It was the only explanation; if she wasn't a Runner, why hadn't she just come back through the Stargate to the Beta Site, where she would be safe? "Did you happen to see the coordinates that she went to?"

The little man shook his head. "Nope. I was too far away from the controller device. I can tell you she did look mad, though. Wouldn't want to cross her if I was the Wraith." With those last words, he gathered his pail of water and wandered back off into the woods with a friendly wave over his shoulder.

Ronon slipped the locket back into his pocket and took off for the village, where Sheppard and McKay were probably looking for him by now. This time he had good news to tell them: Teyla was alive!

_Unknown Planet_

"Please listen to me, you have to let me go! The Wraith will come and destroy us all if you do not!" Teyla gave a desperate tug at the ropes binding her hands to the pole behind her back, but they did not give in the least. The only thing that got her was even sorer wrists and screaming pain in the still tender wound in her back.

"That's what you think, Runner," one of her captors said venomously. "We have captured your kind before and turned them over to the Wraith and been richly rewarded. It will be no different this time."

Teyla swallowed hard and remembered the village of people that had turned Ronon over to the Wraith because they had thought him still a Runner. That had been her universe, but she was sure that the Wraith of this reality couldn't be much different at all. The people of this village would probably be paid as her captor had said. . .only it wouldn't be by being safe from culling.

"Please, listen. If you let me go now, it might not be too late to save your world. I can guarantee you that the Wraith will come, but as soon as they have what they want, me, they will destroy you. . .please, I've seen it before. . ."

Her captor just shook his head and laughed, turning and heading back to the main part of the village. That left Teyla alone at the outskirts on the far side from the Stargate, secured tightly and unable to do anything but hope that this one time the Wraith wouldn't show up; or this would be the time that Ronon showed up. It didn't matter if it was her Ronon or the Ronon of this reality, just as long as he came.

There would be no way she could get herself out of this one.

_Beta Site_

"Have you found it yet?"

Rodney McKay looked up from where he was tapping away at his computer to glare at Dex. "Would you like to do this?" he snapped, stepping back from the keyboard with a flourishing motion.

Ronon backed off and resumed pacing. "You said you could use the tracking device Doc Beckett took out of me to track her."

"No, I said I _might_ be able to use the device Carson took out of you to track her," McKay corrected snidely without missing a keystroke. "The odds of. . . Oh, would you look at that?"

Ronon seized his pacing and went to stand behind the scientist, peering over his shoulder though he knew Rodney hated that. "What? Did you find her?"

McKay crossed his arms. "There are nineteen different signals matching the one from your device. Why don't you pick one?"

Dex stared at the little red flashing lights, sympathizing with their faceless owners. But which one of them was Teyla, or were any of them?

Rodney pointed to three, one right after the other. "These three are staying in the same place. The rest of them are moving." One of the red dots disappeared. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh?"

Rodney gulped. "Either one of them just died or they were recaptured. One of the devices just disappeared."

Ronon ran his hands down his face. "The question is was that Teyla? Or someone else entirely?"

McKay looked back at the screen. "Well, we need to make a decision. We don't have enough manpower to search all these worlds, we're just going to have to pick and choose and hope we wind up on the right one. We've got four teams available to start searching immediately, including ours."

Ronon turned to look at Sheppard, who had been silently observing from the back corner of the room. The colonel came forward and looked at the screen, then at Ronon. "It's your choice, Ronon, that's what Elizabeth said and I agree. You're the one spearheading this operation, so it's your decision where to start."

Dex looked back at the computer screen, worried his lip, and then pointed. "We'll start here," he decided. "I just hope that's her."

_It has to be_, he thought. _I can't lose her the same way I lost my Teyla. . ._

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**So, they're on the track of her, and Teyla's been captured. (Yes, I am kind of channeling "Sateda" here, but I promise that the resolution will be quite different, and I've had this idea in my head for almost a year and just now finished planning the ending in my head. I am honestly not trying to rip off the episode.) The next chapter should be up tomorrow, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!**_


	11. Finding Hope

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 11/?

**SpaceMonkey0941**: LOL! I love your reviews, they always make me laugh, and right now I really needed a laugh. And because you asked so nicely, here's the next chapter. . . :D I hope you enjoy!

**Wraith named Michael**: Okay, geez Louise, I'll make it turn out okay. You're mean to me, you know that? (pouts) LOL I got it, I understand completely. And yes, poor Teyla. . . LOL, I hope you and your friends like this chapter, too, yes, for my sake. . .

**Thedummie2**: Thank you! I've had this story in my mind for about a year, I'm just now getting around to writing it, LOL, but when I saw "Sateda" I started freaking out, afraid that people would think I was trying to copy off the episode. And, as far as the other Runners, I felt the exact same way. . .you'd think they would have helped them out, too! And it's okay about the rant. . .I do that to, and sometimes it's best to just get the words out (some other people have ranted before too, and given me ideas that are better than my own, it's kind of cool how that works out!). I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!

**Chapter 10**

_Finding Hope_

Ronon's warm breath hit the frigid air with a puff of thick steam, and he shrugged his coat a little tighter around him as he followed Sheppard through the dense forest. This was the first planet that they'd decided to search in hopes of finding Teyla, and for the moment they were looking for anyone human whether it be Teyla or another Runner.

Behind him, Doctor Beckett kept looking around nervously, as though he expected something or someone to pop out at him. He had come along so he could remove the tracking device from Teyla if they found her; or, if they met up with another Runner, he could help that person as well. Other members of the expedition's medical staff were with the other teams out searching, but Beckett had chose to come along with Ronon's team, saying that he was sure they would have the most luck finding Teyla.

Ronon hoped Beckett was right. Now that he knew for sure that Teyla was alive, fighting, and why she hadn't come to Beta Site, he was more determined than ever to find her and bring her back so she could go home. McKay felt sure he was close to figuring out the mirror, and was busy trying to reconstruct the remote device he'd dismantled almost a year ago to try to figure out how it worked. Once he got that put back together, he said, he was sure he could get the mirror turned on and back to Teyla's reality.

That was good news: it would be even better if they could find Teyla so they could help her go back home where she belonged, where she really wanted to be. She didn't belong in this reality, it wasn't hers; she needed to go back to her reality, her home, and her people.

Dex was broken out of his thoughts when Sheppard abruptly stopped walking and knelt down, one fist up in a silent motion for everyone to stop. Ronon immediately dropped to his knees and glanced around, weapon up and ready for action.

That's when he heard it, whatever it was that Sheppard must have been hearing. The snap of a twig here, the rustle of leaves there. . .

The foliage to his left stirred in only a moment's warning before a small, dirty figure stumbled onto the path, staring at them in obvious terror as she realized that she'd broken her cover and was now out in the open with four men who were pointing weapons at her.

McKay spoke from behind Ronon, his voice low. "She's the Runner on this planet. The tracking device in her back is sending my tracking equipment haywire."

Dex slowly holstered his weapon, holding out his other hand in a bit of a placating gesture. "It's okay," he said, trying not to sound gruff. "We won't hurt you."

The young woman, who couldn't have been much older than sixteen, looked at him with frightened blue eyes out from under matted and tangled dark hair. "Rescue?" she whispered, hope in her voice.

Ronon and Sheppard traded a silent glance before Dex nodded. "Yes, we're here to rescue you. We'll get that tracking device out of your back, and then we'll take you home." He took one step forward, hand still out. "Okay?"

She shook her head. "Home's gone," she whispered. "The Wraith destroyed it."

Dex swallowed back his anger. "What's your name?"

"Tessa." She still looked scared, but at least she didn't look like she expected to die any second now.

"Tessa. My name's Ronon, and that's John Sheppard, Carson Beckett, and Rodney McKay. If you want, we'll take you back to our planet until you can find somewhere you want to stay."

Tessa swallowed hard and nodded. "But what about the tracker?" she questioned, motioning to her back. "It would bring the Wraith to your planet like mine."

"I'm goin' to get it outta ye here, lass," Beckett said softly. "I'm a doctor, and I promise I'll be gentle."

Tessa agreed, and while Beckett set up his equipment Ronon reached into his pocket and pulled out Teyla's locket. On the off chance that perhaps this young woman had seen Teyla, he held it out to her and pointed to the picture. "Have you seen her before?"

Tessa looked intently at the picture, her brow wrinkling. "Yes, in the face she does. I met a woman who looks like her yesterday, but her hair was a little shorter and lighter colored. She was a Runner like me, and we killed the Wraith pursuing us together, then went our separate ways. We didn't say much to each other, and pretty much all she said was that she was fighting to go back home."

Ronon reined in his want to jump for joy. "I don't suppose she mentioned where she was planning on heading next?" he asked hopefully.

Tessa shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. She didn't." Beckett called for her, and she shot Ronon an apologetic glance and headed over to the Scottish doctor.

Dex closed the locket again and slid it into his pocket as Sheppard came to stand next to him.

"Well, she said she's seen Teyla. They met up on a planet once, killed the Wraith pursuing them, and went their separate ways. She said it was yesterday."

Sheppard seemed to be doing some mental calculating. "Yesterday by standards of this planet?"

Ronon shrugged. "Probably."

John still looked unconvinced. "Well, it's the most recent sighting of her that we've had reported to us, so I suppose it's a start. We'll just have to keep looking and hope that we can find her before it's too late."

_Unknown planet_

Teyla had been struggling against her bonds for so long she'd lost track of time, but it had not gotten her free. All it gave her were rope burned wrists and aching shoulders, definitely not the results she'd been hoping for. These injuries, in combination with the rest she'd sustained at the hands of the brutal men who had captured her, made her wish she could get free if for no other reason than to kill them all.

She closed her eyes in exhaustion and leaned her head back against the pole behind her. She knew that it would be only a matter of time before the Wraith showed up, and then it would be all over for her. As long as she was running she was trying to get home; but here she could do nothing but wait for the inevitable.

All she wanted to do was go home to Atlantis. To everything familiar, everyone she loved, her people, her team. . .Ronon. Was that such a bad thing to yearn for? Perhaps not, but she had a terrible feeling deep in her stomach that told her she would never see them again.

Two tears trickled out from beneath her closed eyelids and made paths down her dusty face. _Ronon, I am so sorry. So sorry I never told you how I feel, so sorry this happened, so sorry for not understanding you more, and so sorry that I will never see you again. . ._

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**Short chapter now, but I promise that the next one will make up for it! I hope you enjoyed, and keep an eye open for the next chapter tomorrow, because this story is far from over!**_


	12. Broken Spirit

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, spoilers, etc.

Part 12/?

**Wraith named Michael**: Me too! And it's like thedummie2 said: I couldn't just have all these other Runners out there and not do _something_ to help them, LOL. And as far as Teyla goes. . .eh, we'll see. :D I'm glad you liked the last chapter, those Hives are starting to creep me out, LOL, and I hope you like this one, as well!

**Darkjewelledassassin**: LOL! I love your review. :D And I couldn't leave that poor Runner out there alone to fight the Wraith, and apparently neither could the search team (wink). So all Runners, be free! Truthfully, I don't know what I'd do if it happened to me, either. I'd probably be totally weirded out and then flip over Ronon, John, and Carson (_three_ adorable guys come to rescue me! Squee!!!) (wink) ". . .they will smooch and live happily ever after. . ." I almost literally fell out of my chair laughing after reading that part of your review. I'm so glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one, too!

Author's note: I had a little trouble writing this chapter, I had to keep stopping and mopping my eyes. So, yes, a little warning: it's a little sad, but I promise it ends happy. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and there's still a lot of story left!

**Chapter 11**

_Broken Spirit_

Six freed Runners and an equal number of planets later, Ronon, Sheppard, McKay, and Beckett stepped out of the Stargate on another chilly world, this one inhabited.

Inhabited?

Ronon and John traded surprised glances. A Runner was on this planet, and had been for a while now, and the Wraith hadn't destroyed it yet?

The walk from the Stargate to the entrance of the village was short, and upon first glance the village looked peaceful. Women in long, high necked dresses stood on the front porches of the homes, beating rugs, churning butter, rocking and sewing. . .

Children ran through the streets, laughing and chasing each other in a game of tag. Men were working here and there, some on roofs of houses, others on a large building that looked like it could have been an Old West town hall, and still others were busy eyeing the newcomers with some suspicion.

Everything looked as though business were normal on this planet, but the small blinking blip on the screen of Rodney's tracker showed very clearly that there was something immensely out of place: there was a Runner here, and this town was fully intact.

What was going on here?

Two men walked up to the newcomers, both of them suspicious looking brutes with beady eyes and unfriendly frowns.

"Who are you and what are you here for?" the one on the left questioned.

Ronon took two steps forward and held out the open locket that used to belong to Teyla. "We're here looking for this woman, whether she's here now or if she has been in the recent past."

The two men looked at the picture, each other, and then back at Ronon. "Nope," the one on the right said. "We haven't seen her."

The other laughed. "Would know it if we had," the one on the left said in a lewd tone.

Ronon snapped shut the locket and put it back in his pocket. _They're lying._ He didn't have to even think about it, he could see it in their eyes. He didn't know of they had seen her before and she had left after realizing this planet was inhabited and it was another Runner's signal they were picking up, or if she had never left (or been able to leave) in the first place, but he knew that they were lying about not seeing her either way.

What his instinct was telling him, however, was that the Runner signal they were picking up was from Teyla, and that she was here right now. What he didn't want to do was have to go tearing through the whole town looking for her; he'd rather have some cooperation even though Rodney would have pinpointed her exact location by now with his Ancient device.

Ronon stepped forward again so he was standing mere inches from the two men. "I know you're lying," he said, his voice soft and deadly. "Where is she?"

The two men exchanged another glance before the left one spoke again. "Look, I'm telling you, we haven't seen her. . ."

Rodney's device let out a little chirp, and the scientist looked up. "There's definitely someone here." He looked back down at his tracker and then pointed down the main street, towards the opposite end of the village. "That way."

Without a word Ronon stepped between the two men and walked meaningfully towards the other end of the village, fury beginning a slow burn in his heart. Those thugs were lying to him, and he had half a mind to go ahead and shoot them both right then. . .

"_Teyla_?"

He hardly recognized her. She winced at his voice and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her forehead against them and allowing her matted and tangled hair to fall forward to hide the sides of her face. Curled up like that with her hands tied behind her back she looked so small and fragile it made what was left of Ronon's already broken heart rip in two.

Dex spun around to face the two men, who had followed him down the street to where Teyla was tied. Seconds later one was sitting on the ground cursing and cradling his broken nose, and the other had the barrel of Ronon's blaster pressed to his temple.

"What have you done to her?" the Satedan growled low in his throat, green eyes flashing with a furious fire that would not be quenched.

Now the brute wasn't quite so tough. He was shaking, eyes darting nervously back and forth between Ronon's angry face and the barrel of his gun. "She's a Runner," he said, his voice quavering. "We contacted the Wraith to tell them to come pick her up. They'll be here any time. . . She tried to fight us, so we subdued her. . ."

"Subdued?" Ronon's voice was an angry roar. "That's not subdued, that's broken!" With an angry and disgusted rumble deep in his throat, Ronon pushed the man away from him and slipped his blaster back in its holster. "Watch 'em, Sheppard. Shoot 'em if they even dare blink."

The human colonel didn't argue, instead taking up a position where he could cover both men. McKay and Beckett had stayed farther back in the village to make sure that the other two didn't have any backup coming.

Ronon knelt next to Teyla and gently reached behind her, untying the rope holding her hands behind her and catching her as she slumped forward. Apparently the support of the pole had been the only thing holding her upright.

Dex gently tipped Teyla's head back and pushed her hair out of her face, biting back the fury that once more welled up in him at the sight that met his eyes. A gash on her forehead extended from just below her hairline to only a few centimeters above her left eye, narrowly missing it; her right eye was puffy, swollen, and half closed, turning different shades with bruising; her cheeks were bruised and gaunt; and her lip was split and swollen. Ronon gently picked up her hand and examined her wrist, which was also bruised and rope burned from where she had been struggling against her bonds.

Ronon looked into her eyes and, with a painful realization, recognized the look there, that blank, uncaring expression: they'd broken her spirit.

She moaned softly as he pulled his coat off, wrapped it around her, and then picked her up and settled her into his arms. Turning, he looked back at the two men who had done this to Teyla and said hoarsely: "I'm not going to kill you." The two men got relieved expressions on their faces until Dex finished: "I'm not going to do it, because the Wraith are. And, believe me, this is one time when I am not going to try to stop them."

Ronon walked straight past the two men and back down the dusty main street towards the Stargate, Teyla cradled in his arms and the look on his face making no one dare to stop him.

When he met back up with McKay and Beckett, he stopped and looked at them both before saying simply: "The Wraith will be here soon. We've got to take her somewhere else and get the device out of her, then get her back to Beta."

Neither argued, both knocked speechless by the condition of the woman they'd come to call their friend.

Teyla's hand suddenly curled around the lapel of his jacket in a surprisingly strong grip. "Wraith. . ." her voice was low, husky, but he heard her clearly only a few seconds before the first hit from space demolished the half built town hall.

Sheppard suddenly appeared on Ronon's left. "Time to go," he said, jogging next to Ronon as he ushered the two doctors ahead so they could get the Gate dialed.

Teyla hissed in pain as Ronon accidentally jostled her. "Sorry, sorry," he said absently, waiting impatiently as McKay dialed, loudly pondering the entire time which planet would be the best to Gate to.

A hit to the house not twenty yards away nearly knocked Ronon off his feet. "Come on, McKay!" he yelled impatiently. "We _don't_ have time for this!"

Rodney yelled something as the Stargate activated, and Rodney motioned for him to get Teyla through the Gate first. Ronon pushed Beckett through and then was right behind him, coming out on the other side to a rather temperate climate with Sheppard and McKay popping out only seconds later.

The Stargate shut down with a popping whoosh, and then all was suddenly quiet.

Ronon stood in the sudden silence, taking a moment to catch his breath and allow the adrenaline rush he was high on to fade away. Realization that Teyla was finally safe sunk in then, and he spun to face Beckett. "Got your equipment ready?" he asked.

The doctor was already setting up, pulling medical equipment out of his portable medical kit as quickly as he could. "Almost, Ronon." He turned to face Sheppard. "Get something set up so we can lay Teyla down. I need to be able to get to her back to get the device out; the sooner I get it out of her the sooner we can get her back to Beta and to a real infirmary."

As Sheppard went about his business, Ronon looked at Teyla, who had whispered his name to get his attention. "What, Teyla?"

A small smile curled the corners of her lips as a single tear slid out from her good eye. "Thank you."

_Atlantis_

Ronon leaned against the railing of one of Atlantis's more secluded balconies, gaze not on the breathtaking view before him but on the necklace he held in his hand. Teyla's birthday was today, and she still wasn't back home.

He had been hoping that today would be the day that McKay would figure out how to work the mirror, that they would find Teyla and bring her home. Granted, the day wasn't over yet, but his hopes were rapidly waning as the minutes passed. Despite the fact that Rodney had been working day and night with little sleep, eating his meals in the lab as he worked, Teyla still wasn't home and they were no closer to finding her than they were when the accident happened.

Dex slid the necklace back into his pocket and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He wanted to do something to help McKay, but the scientist was acting like an animal with a sore paw and was now only allowing Doctor Zelenka into his lab to assist. Everyone else either had things thrown at them, the door locked against them, or was yelled at.

There was no point going to the lab anymore. Whenever the mirror was fixed, McKay would let them know. Until then, it did no go to bother Rodney, it would only distract him from his work.

But still, Ronon couldn't help but want to expedite the process. Once they got the mirror turned on, that would solve _some_ of their problems, and McKay seemed confident he could hook up some sort of computer interface to switch realities. But he couldn't work on that program until he got the mirror on, unfortunately, which left them all in the same predicament they were stuck in when they started.

_We're going to find her,_ he told himself. _We are going to find her, we are going to bring her home, and I am going to tell her how I feel about her._

Ronon clung to that hope and closed his eyes, determined to not give up no matter what else happened.

_Beta Site_

Four days.

Out of the eight days Teyla had been a Runner, almost half of those she'd spent in the hands of the villagers. Carson had said the worst injury she had was a bruised rib; the others were superficial bruises and cuts. She was malnourished and dehydrated as well, apparently her captors hadn't thought, or wanted, to feed her and give her water.

Ronon thought she had felt light and far too thin in his arms when he'd carried her from the village, and he'd been right. Everything inside him burned wanting to go back to the planet and exact revenge by destroying the village, but he knew it would do no good because the Wraith had already done that for him.

While Carson had been patching up Teyla's injuries and Ronon had been waiting outside the makeshift emergency room that Beta Site harbored, Kyana and Jadin had run up to him and welcomed him back to Beta with big hugs. He felt a little guilty; in his quest to find Teyla he hadn't been spending as much time with his children as he should have.

They were quick to forgive, however, and exclaimed happily that they were glad their mother was back home. Ronon asked and received the response that yes, both Jadin and Kyana could still sense Teyla and that was how the twins had known that Teyla was back home.

Ronon spent most of the time by Teyla's bedside, waiting for her to wake up. Carson was keeping her in a medically induced state of sleep, saying that was what she needed to heal faster. In this way she wouldn't feel pain, and wouldn't constantly be trying to fight it, and that would help expedite the healing process for the pretty Athosian.

Four more long days passed, each of them bringing a better report from Carson. The bruises on her face and arms were healing, the swelling of her eye and lip had gone down, and she looked almost normal again. Beckett was confident it would not be much longer before she woke up, and Ronon was just thankful that she was going to.

It wasn't long after Ronon had settled into his bedside vigil on the fifth day when Rodney McKay came bursting into the infirmary, face red and eyes wide with excitement. "Ronon!"

Dex was on his feet immediately, motioning for McKay to be quiet. Grabbing the scientist's arm, he dragged him out of the infirmary and asked: "What?"

"Has she woken up yet?" Rodney was practically dancing.

"No, she hasn't. Why?" _It can't be, but I hope it is. . ._

McKay's grin grew wider as he triumphantly announced: "I got the mirror turned on and contacted her reality. The other Sheppard, Beckett, you, and me are getting ready to come through, get her, and take her home."

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**Don't hit me for the cliffie. . .please? And never fear, despite the fact that the mirror is finally working and Teyla gets to go home, there is still much story left. Next chapter tomorrow, and I hope you enjoyed this one!**_


	13. Interrupted Truths

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 13/?

**Wraith named Michael**: I couldn't leave poor Teyla out there any longer. And I almost asked if you and your friends would go do something about that village, but the Wraith chasing Teyla beat me to it (wink). And that mirror. . .ugh, it's caused no end of trouble, LOL. And even though Teyla gets to go home, there's still a surprising amount of story left to go (oy, why did I get this idea again:D). And is that all four ships full of your friends, or just a few of them? Because, come to think of it, the ones down here watching me are looking a little hungrier than normal. . . Is that a bad thing? I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Darkjewelledassassin**: Thank you! I got angry writing it, so I know how you feel. And I would have given Ronon more of a chance for the whole beating up on the bad guys thing except for the fact that I wanted Ronon to want to get Teyla off the planet as quickly as possible, and it was almost time for the Wraith to show up. Yes, it will be sad (saying goodbye always is), but I hope I managed to make it _good_ and sad, you know what I mean? She isn't leaving yet, there are still a couple of loose ends to tie up before she does, but she will be going home in the next chapter. Thank you for your review (I love reading them), and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well, and I hope you don't need the entire box of tissues (yet) for this chapter, LOL!

**freeplaces**: Thank you! (blushes) And yes, you're right. . . (grin) I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'm glad you like the story!

**As to not confuse the characters, I will call the characters from "our" reality by their first names, and the ones from the other reality by their last names or their salutations and their last names.**

Author's note: Please pardon me the pun at the beginning of the chapter, and there is still quite a bit of story left to tell, both from this reality and "ours," so it's far from over yet! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 12**

_Interrupted Truths_

Coming face to face with _himself_ was one thing that Ronon Dex had never expected to experience in his life. But here he was, in an alternate reality, quite literally looking at a mirror image of himself. It was quite disconcerting, but also, in a way, quite interesting.

"Where is she?" Ronon questioned the other him, needing to see Teyla, needing to know that this was real and not just a dream, for he'd thought they had found her before only to wake up to the realization that it had merely been a dream.

Dex offered a smile and motioned for Ronon to follow him. "The infirmary. I'll take you there."

Ronon reached out and seized Dex's arm. "Wait a minute, what's she doing in the infirmary?"

Dex yanked his arm from Ronon's grasp, looking surprisingly patient. "I think it would be best if she explained that to you at her own discretion," he said cryptically, then turned and continued to walk, forcing Ronon to do the same so he wouldn't get lost in the unfamiliar halls of this Beta Site.

Sheppard, McKay, and Beckett had remained with their other selves, obviously giving him time to go see Teyla on his own, even though they were probably just as anxious to see her and make sure that she was okay.

He was grateful.

Dex stopped outside a door, turning back to face Ronon with a cautious look on his face. "She looks worse than she actually is," he warned. "And she actually looks better than when we found her."

"Found her?" Had travel through the mirror injured her?

Dex nodded to the door. "Go see her. She's probably asleep right now, but she should wake up." He turned and headed back in the direction of the room the mirror was in, obviously deciding that leaving Ronon and Teyla alone was the best course of action.

Ronon swallowed back the sudden nervous feelings in his throat and reached for the doorknob, wondering if he was ready for what would meet him inside.

He opened the door and slipped inside, quietly closing it behind him before turning to look at Teyla for the first time in two long weeks.

She was laying on her side, two small lines of pain or distress, or both, wrinkling her forehead. There were fading bruises across her cheek, and a bandage on her forehead, were obvious evidence that something terrible had happened to her.

Ronon moved quietly across the room, pausing next to the bed to just look at her. _Teyla, what has happened to you here?_

Teyla's eyes suddenly snapped open, and with a wince of pain she raised up on one elbow to look at him in concern, her opposite hand moving to her ribs as if to brace them. "Ronon?" She must have seen the look on his face, because she said: "What is wrong? What happened? Is it the children?"

Ronon blinked at stared at her, realizing with a start that she didn't know it was really him: she thought he was the _other_ him, the one from this reality. His heart sank, just a little, but he tried not to let it effect him: after all, it would be only natural that she assume it was the other him. "Teyla," he said softly, "it's _me_."

She blinked, looking closer at him with wide eyes as her jaw dropped. "_Ronon_? It is _really_ you?" She reached out the hand that had been bracing her ribs and touched his arm, tears welling up in her eyes as her hand made contact. "You came for me," she whispered, small crystalline drops beginning to trail down her bruised cheeks. "You are finally here. . ." Despite the pain she was obviously in, she struggled into a sitting position and held out her arms, a small smile wavering across her lips as she gazed at him.

Ronon swallowed hard and leaned forward, gently wrapping his arms around her as to not put her in any more pain than she was already in. "Teyla, I will _always_ come for you," he told her. "I'm just sorry it took this long."

She shook her head into his neck, still softly crying. "You are here now," she said firmly. "That is all that matters to me."

Ronon pulled back slightly and ran a gentle finger along the bruises lining her eye and cheeks, then picking up her hand and examining the rope burns around her wrist. "What happened?" he questioned, trying not to sound angry, or be angry, until he found out the truth.

Teyla shook her head and lay back down. "It is a long story," she told him, pulling the white medical blanket back up to her chin. "If you do not mind, it is one I would rather not recount at this joyous time."

Ronon swallowed back his want to plead her to tell him and nodded. "Of course, you're right." He glanced over his shoulder, then slipped his hand into his pocket, fingers closing over the necklace. _It's time to tell her._ "Teyla, I. . ."

"Teyla!"

Ronon winced and turned as Rodney, John, and Carson rushed into the room, gathering around their friend's bed and smiling broadly. _Of all the lousy timing. . ._

Teyla sent him an apologetic look, a _we'll talk later_ promise in her eyes, before turning to face her other two teammates and her doctor friend. "I am so glad to see you all," she said, accepting gentle and friendly hugs from both Carson and John and a somewhat awkward handshake from Rodney.

Ronon quietly slipped from the room, nearly bumping into the other him as he did so. "Sorry," he muttered and started to go around Dex, but the other man grabbed his arm.

"She's a wonderful woman," Dex told him, once more with a cryptic twist on his words. "Don't wait until it's too late to tell her."

Ronon blinked in surprise as Dex calmly let go of Ronon's arm and took off down the hall in the opposite direction as though he had said nothing, jaw tight in an expression of reined in emotion that he recognized well from seeing it in the mirror sometimes. _What the. . .?_

He shook his head and decided to let it go. There were a lot of strange things in this reality, and he decided to credit this one to that fact as well, though he had to admit that Dex did have a point. . .

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**This chapter was fairly short, I admit, but the next one should be longer. This one was going to be a lot longer, but I decided to cut up the rest of the time in this reality to two, maybe even three chapters. There are still some loose ends to tie up in the "other" reality, but even after Teyla goes home there's still a lot of story to tell, I promise. . . I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the next one should be up tomorrow!**_


	14. Going Home

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 14/?

**Wraith named Michael**: Yes, they do. And I hadn't thought about Thor, but you're right. . .the little grey guy _does_ have terrible timing, doesn't he? I'm sure leadfingers would love to have a conversation with your friends. . .she sympathizes with you all. (Don't ask me why, she just sees where you're coming from with the whole feeding thing, she's like that a lot, LOL.) And hopefully Ronon will. . .and Teyla. Hope you and your friends enjoy this chapter!

**Freeplaces**: Thank you so much! And addicted. . .is this a good thing or a bad thing, LOL? I'm so glad that you're enjoying it, and I hope this is a good chapter, too!

**SpaceMonkey0941**: In this chapter, you'll find out how the twins can sense Teyla. I hope you like!

**Darkjewelledassassin**: Yes, this is the chapter where you need the tissues. (hides) I hope you enjoy (and don't need the _whole_ box. . .)!

**Chapter 13**

_Going Home_

With the addition of another Carson Beckett working on the mystery of why Jadin and Kyana could sense Teyla, it did not take long for the answer to reveal itself. To everyone's surprise, it was a quite simple solution, one that had been overlooked and dismissed in the past.

"Wraith DNA?" Teyla blinked in surprise and glanced over at Kyana and Jadin, who were laughing and giggling in the corner of the room with Annie. "But I thought that you had dismissed that idea earlier?"

Carson shrugged. "Both the children said that when they were sensing you, it was not the same feeling inside them that they got when they were sensing the Wraith, so we dismissed the possibility of it being the Wraith DNA. However, after running more tests on both you and the twins, that was the only thing we could accredit to."

Beckett cleared his throat. "Barring something supernatural of course," he said. "But since none of us believe in such things, the logical answer is the Wraith DNA."

"You sound unsure if that is the answer," Teyla said, arching one eyebrow.

Carson looked nervous. "Well, we _aren't_ entirely sure that the DNA inside you and the children is the answer. Like I said, both children can sense you but in a good way. We're hoping that the Wraith have some sort of genetic pathway among them that allow the same thing. Or, it could just be the Wraith DNA combined with the part of Ronon's genetic makeup that prevents the Wraith from feeding on him. It's like we said, we can't understand it, but all we know is it's there, and it could just be the Wraith DNA or it mixed with something else. We don't know, and we're not sure if we'll ever know for sure."

"It's a true medical mystery," Beckett agreed. "And one we will all be pondering far into the future."

The two doctors left the room, still discussing it as they passed Dex coming in.

"How are you feeling?" he wanted to know, coming to stand next to her bed.

Teyla offered him a thin smile. "Well enough to go home," she said truthfully. "Though there will be many things I will miss in this reality."

Both of their gazes drifted to Jadin, Kyana, and Annie, then back to each other. "We're all going to miss you," Dex said, his voice huskier than normal. "You've helped us all, Teyla. Thank you."

She reached out her hand and squeezed Dex's, still softly smiling though there was a film of tears in her eyes. "You have helped me very much as well," she said. "You have helped me look at my life in a different way, and you also helped me return home. Thank _you_."

Dex cleared his throat, the barest trace of a smile curling his lips. "It was the least I could do," he told her. "Especially after all you've done to help me and my people."

Teyla looked away from Dex's intense green eyes. "I am happy that I can finally go home," she admitted, "but the fact that I have to leave here. . ." She shook her head. "It is going to be hard. Harder than I thought it would be."

Dex gave her a gentle hug, one that let her know that he would miss her, too.

_Beta Site_

Teyla knelt in front of the twins, who were gazing at her with matching pairs of sad green eyes. Swallowing back her tears, Teyla pulled Jadin and Kyana in for gentle hugs as she whispered: "I will miss you both. Thank you so much for showing me what is possible."

Four small arms wrapped around her neck tightly. "We'll miss you, Mama," they both said at the same time.

Teyla closed her eyes and hugged them a little tighter. "I will miss you both as well," she whispered. "So much."

She finally let the twins go and went to shake Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard's hands. "Thank you so much for all your help," she told them. "Both of you."

Sheppard rested his hands on his wife's shoulders. "You would have done the same for us," he said. "And, besides, you deserved to go home. You've proved to us that there's another world, a world where everything is going _right_. What more could we have asked for?"

Teyla smiled at him before going on to McKay. "Thank you, Doctor McKay," she said to him. "You figured out how to turn the mirror on to get me home."

McKay shuffled his feet and looked a little embarrassed. "I might have figured out how to turn it on, but it was the other me standing in front of the mirror getting ready to throw the wrench in his hand that helped me to figure out which reality was yours."

Teyla managed a small laugh, then shook McKay's hand. "Thank you anyway," she told him. "I am forever in your debt."

At last she came to Dex, who stood next to the mirror watching her quietly. There was a sad look in his eyes, but there was also a content there that Teyla knew hadn't been there for at least two years.

"Thank you, Ronon," she said to him. "For everything you have done."

Dex smiled and hugged her gently, careful of the wound on her back. "Thank you, Teyla. I'll miss you." He held on to her for a long moment, and then, as he drew away, he whispered: "And thank you for giving me the chance to say goodbye." His lips brushed her cheek as he drew back, and he offered her another, somewhat wobbly, smile.

Teyla smiled and bowed her head, one last graceful motion of thanks for everything these people had done for her. "Thank you," she said, forcing her voice not to waver. "I will never forget you, any of you."

And then, with Ronon's arm around her, and Rodney, Carson, and John. . .her closest friends, around her, she reached out and touched the smooth, mirrored surface that would take her _home_.

On the other side she looked back, seeing the group of people that had become her close friends over the course of the two weeks she'd been in the alternate reality gathered around the mirror, watching her with different degrees of sadness and pain on their faces.

She closed her eyes, bowed her head to them, and committed them to her forever memory as the mirror shut down and closed off her last link with them.

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**I know this was a short chapter, but I wanted it to be this way. And even though Teyla is home, there is still a lot of story left to tell, I promise. Next chapter should be up tomorrow! I hope you enjoyed this one!**_


	15. Truths Revealed

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 15/?

**Wraith named Michael**: As far as Thor's timing, he's had his moments of bad. (I'm mostly thinking "Nemesis," when Sam was letting herself get talked into going fishing with Jack and then in comes Thor and there goes the long awaited fishing trip). Okay, so he has this knack for getting them out of trouble at just the right time, but he also has an almost equally bad habit of showing up at the wrong moment. But it is funny. Yes, everyone will miss her and vice versa (and I'm going to miss writing that alternate universe. . .that was fun). But she has her memories, and in this chapter you'll find she has something else, too. . . Hope you enjoy!

**Darkjewelledassassin**: (whew) I was hoping I wouldn't make you cry too hard because she was leaving. (Even though I cried, but that might just be me. I'm a sappy romantic and usually turn myself into a blubbering mess when I write.) LOL. Even though she's home, the trouble isn't completely over yet. . . Please don't kill me? I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Dedication**: To Dia, for giving me the wonderful inspiration and ideas of this chapter (and for making me laugh at the almost was ending scene). You're awesome, girl!

**Chapter 14**

_Truths Revealed_

_**Two Months Later**_

A serene readiness settled over Teyla as she paced around Ronon, watching his eyes intently for any sign of where he was going to strike first as she readied herself to go straight onto the defense.

After being home for two months, Teyla had finally began to settle back into her normal life. Carson had at last cleared her for full duty, so she was back to going off world with her team, training Colonel Sheppard in the art of stick fighting, and. . .her personal favorite. . .sparring with Ronon full contact.

Around her neck rested the necklace that Ronon had given her as a late birthday and homecoming present. The charm dangling from it was a small silver flower with a fiery green jewel in the center hanging from a cord that tied firmly in the back so it wouldn't break or come loose. Teyla liked it best because the color of the stone just matched Ronon's eyes in both intense color and fiery beauty.

Around her wrist dangled a bracelet with a matching charm. The Ronon from the other reality had given it to her only a few minutes before she had prepared to leave. It had been his Teyla's, and he had been holding on to it for a long time. But he had given it to her as a memento of that reality, so she would never forget them. She had taken it with a promise, one that she planned to keep: she would fight the Wraith in her reality in the name of the people in his, fighting for a freedom that perhaps their hearts could share despite the fact they were in two different realities. She had come to love that Ronon, not in a romantic way, her heart was in love with a different Ronon in that respect, but she had come to love him as a good friend, a confidante, one she wished she could speak to if only one last time.

Ronon's Bantos rods clacking loudly against hers broke her from her thoughts, and she defended quickly, spinning, whirling, dancing away from his while throwing in a few good hits every now and then when she thought her opponent was least expecting them. Occasionally her sticks would make contact; sometimes they would not.

The fight continued for some time; intense, powerful, sticks thwacking and slamming against each other with the force that only two masters of the art could possibly possess. A smooth sheen of sweat broke out across both of their skins, their muscles began to scream with fatigue, but still neither quit, each trying to get the upper hand on the other and neither willing to give up until the match was decided one way or the other.

Teyla faltered slightly, her stick missing blocking Ronon's by only a few seconds, and that was all he needed. He had her by the arm and spun around in an impossibly quick move, her arm trapped between her back and his chest, his other hand holding a stick across her throat in the winning move.

She let out her breath and smiled. "I should have known better than to take my mind off the match."

"Yes, you should have." Ronon released her and smiled. "Never take your mind. . .or your eyes. . .off your opponent. The results could be quite disastrous."

Teyla stepped away from Ronon and started to head over to her gear for a much needed drink of water, but the tight note in Ronon's voice when he spoke from behind her stopped her cold in her tracks. "Teyla, what is that?"

Teyla closed her eyes and bowed her head, shame filtering through her. What had occurred in the other reality had become such a part of her life that when she had been in such a hurry to dress earlier to come to spar, she had not spared a thought of what clothing to put on. She had just grabbed a top and pulled it on, hoping it matched her loose pants, and jerked her hair up into some random style that would keep it up as she dashed out the door.

What she had forgotten was the long, jagged scar that stretched horizontally between her shoulder blades where the Wraith had inserted the tracking device, and the fact that the only three people in this reality other than her who were aware of it were Doctor Beckett, Doctor Heightmeier, and Doctor Weir. She wasn't sure why, but she had not told Ronon what had happened to her; despite the fact that something was growing between them, she had not wanted him to know, at least for a while.

Now, it was too late.

"It is nothing," she said softly. "I do not even remember it is there anymore."

Ronon's hand on her upper arm spun her around, and there was a furious look in his eyes as he said in a very soft, controlled voice: "That is not _nothing_, Teyla. I know what that is, I have seen it before, I bear the same mark on my own back. The Wraith from the other reality turned you into a Runner, didn't they?"

Teyla yanked her arm out of Ronon's grasp, angry at him and at herself. "I do not wish to discuss this, Ronon," she said, her voice low and angry. "With you or anyone else."

However, Ronon wasn't that willing to drop the subject. "Teyla, why didn't you tell me about this?"

Rigid, Teyla spun and began furiously throwing things into her equipment bag. "I do not want to discuss it, I told you that already. You are not willing to talk about your time as a Runner, and neither am I."

"Teyla, I understand what happened to you, I could _help_ you through what you are going through now. I can see it in your eyes: you may no longer feel the pain of the knife mark on your back, but the mark in your heart and in your mind is still lingering."

Teyla resisted the urge to spin around and hit Ronon. "Perhaps you do know what I have been through. Perhaps you could help me. But you are haunted, Ronon, and so am I. You have your burdens, and I have mine. It is fair to neither of us to try to shoulder the other's."

She could hear the pain in Ronon's voice when he spoke again. "Teyla, I understand why you don't want to talk: I've been there. But I also know that it is the most painful thing to try to keep everything bottled up inside. I've done that, in a way I'm still doing it."

Teyla's hand reflexively tightened around the straps of her gear bag. "I am talking to Doctor Heightmeier," she told him stiffly.

That momentarily derailed Ronon's line of thought. "Is it helping?"

"In some ways, yes." That was the truth, just not all of it.

Ronon gazed at her with sad and somewhat betrayed eyes. "I thought we could talk to _each other_, Teyla. I thought we had something, I thought we could talk openly, because I love you."

Teyla's head snapped around, looking at him with wide eyes. Judging by the expression on Ronon's face, he was as surprised as her at the words that had just escaped his mouth.

Dex blinked and looked away. "Okay, obviously neither one of us were expecting that."

Teyla shook her head. "I know I was not, but. . ." She hesitated, her arms curling around herself self consciously. "Really?"

"Yeah, I really do. I'd been thinking about it a lot, but I guess that was the moment I really just realized it and it sort of slipped out." He must have taken her responding silence as something negative, for he rushed on with: "You know, I'm just saying. . . I mean, I just. . . I don't want to. . ." He trailed off helplessly and looked at her with anxious apology in his eyes. "I'm terrible at this sort of thing."

Teyla managed a smile. "I noticed," she said softly, an expression of adoring amusement on her face. She walked to the edge of the mat, her face tilted up to look into his face. The sunlight beaming through the windows across the room shone on his face like a spotlight and lit his eyes with green fire. She raised onto her tiptoes, her mouth only inches from Ronon's. "And I love you, too."

Ronon blinked at her, startled again. "I. . . Oh." He smiled then, that rare little grin that he rarely bestowed upon her but made her feel that much more special when he did. "Wow," he said simply, then tilted his head down that last little distance and kissed her.

Teyla closed her eyes and surrendered herself to their first kiss, feeling as though their differences, and in a way their similarities, hardly seemed to matter anymore. . .

_To Be Continued. . ._

**_Okay, so _now_ the story is starting to wind to an end. All together now: NOOO! I have seriously enjoyed writing this, and hope you all have enjoyed reading it as well. There are still a couple of chapters and an epilogue left, so it's not over yet, I just wanted to warn you all that there isn't too much left. I hope you enjoyed and please don't kill me. . ._**


	16. Whispers and Dreams

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 16/18

**Freeplaces**: I am so happy that my story is helping your day. I know when I've had a long day all I like to do is sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and some good fanfic, so I can honestly say that I know the feeling. I don't want "Superman" to end, I have had so much fun writing this it should be illegal:D. But I promise that when I finish "Superman" my writer's mind is already cooking up a two-part Ronon/Teyla fic, so no one will be left with _nothing_. . .:D And your English is great. . .in some ways it's much better than mine, and it's my native language. It's so cool to meet (well, kind of meet) someone French! I'm so glad that you love my story, and I hope this chapter is good!

**Darkjewelledassassin**: (hugs back) Thank you! And I've found that kissing is always good, especially when it's Ronon/Teyla. :D ;) Thank you, I'm happy that the chapter was sweet (what I was going for), and you're soooo right about Ronon. . .I'm sitting here drooling all over my keyboard right now, LOL. I hope you like this chapter, too. . .I think you will. . . :D ;)

**Wraith named Michael**: Well, there's still this chapter, another, and the epilogue to go, so we're not _quite_ to the end, yet. Does that make you feel better? Yes, too bad we can't get something like this (Ronon/Teyla, I mean) on the actual TV show. . .that would just be great. And, seriously, I am not sure what I could do with a sequel. . . Sorry, please don't send out your friends to get me. . . Please? (hides) Would it make you feel better to know that I'm already planning a big two-parter fic? Ronon/Teyla, of course. LOL I'm glad you love this story, and I hope you like this chapter!

Author's note: Unfortunately, there's only one chapter left after this, and then the epilogue, and then it's over. Just to let you know, there is no sequel planned _right now_, though, at a later time, I may come up with a good idea for one (truthfully, _I'm_ hoping I'll be able to come up with something!). I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 15**

_Whispers and Dreams_

Life had settled back to normal, or something like it, for Ronon and Teyla. Six months passed after Ronon and Teyla admitted that they loved each other; two of those were spent with their relationship secret. They had wanted to make sure that it would work out before they spoke to the leader of their team, and of the expedition, about it.

Since they were both aliens and not in the military, their relationship was allowed to continue. Sheppard and Weir both said that it was fine as long as they did not bring any disagreements to work with them, and as long as they kept things professional while on missions, their relationship would be fully sanctioned and supported, and they could remain on the same team.

Neither wanted to nor found a reason to argue the point.

Everything culminated into a lazy day on the mainland, a much deserved shore leave for members of personnel. Colonel Sheppard had caused a rather humorous scene when he appeared in the Jumper bay with Doctor Weir over his shoulder, carrying her into the Jumper before setting her down in the passenger seat and flatly telling her that she was going to take a day off if it killed him.

She had responded that she would gladly do it for him, but had come along however reluctantly with a tiny smile on her lips.

The shore leave had rapidly turned into a beach party, and as it grew dark a large bonfire was built in the sand and people gathered around it to roast confections known as marshmallows and strange looking meat. . .hot dogs.

Teyla suspiciously passed up the hot dogs and instead sipped on a bottle of water, sitting next to the fire in the shorts that one of the scientists about her size had loaned her, her regular purple lace-up top, and Ronon's long-sleeved tan shirt pulled over that to keep the evening chill off her bare arms. It hung extremely loose on her shoulders, but it was warm and helped shield her against the evening chill. Her bare feet were buried in the sand, and she was turned so she could watch both the fire and the moonlight sparkling on the gently rolling ocean waves.

Elizabeth dropped down next to her quite suddenly, her cheeks flushed an attractive pink and the sleeves of Colonel Sheppard's Air Force sweatshirt pushed up to her elbows. "Teyla," she said softly, her eyes bright and a note of awe in her voice, "John just asked me to marry him." She looked surprised for a moment at her own words, then laughed and shook her head. "That just kind of came out. I suppose I'm excited."

Teyla leaned over to hug her friend, joy in her heart at the look of love and content on Weir's face. "I am very happy for you, Elizabeth. I wish you and John many years of happiness, and many children to bring joy and frustration to your hearts." She laughed, only half joking about the last part.

The pink coloring across Weir's cheeks blossomed into bright red. "Thank you," she said, laughing again. "I can't seem to stop laughing." She reached up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, an irrepressible smile on her face.

Teyla reached out and caught Elizabeth's hand, tilting it so the light from the fire sparkled on the red firestone ring on her finger, remembering seeing Colonel Sheppard purchasing the stone in a marketplace but, at the time, not knowing why. "Is that your engagement ring?" she questioned, admiring the fiery stone in the beautiful silver setting.

Weir nodded. "John bought the stone off world and had one of the scientists make it into a ring. The setting is actually part of the city's wall, melted down and molded into the shape of a ring. He said this way I'd always have a part of what brought us together with me." She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on her arms, crossed over her knees. "I am so happy right now. . ."

She broke off abruptly when the strumming of a guitar brought both her and Teyla's attention to the fire, where Colonel Sheppard had gotten out his instrument and was quietly running his fingers over the strings.

"I can't sing, so I'll spare you the torture," he said, and laughter rustled through the crowd around the fire. "But, I do want to dedicate this song that I wrote to Elizabeth Weir, who just agreed to marry me." He looked across the fire into Elizabeth's eyes as applause swelled and ebbed and good wishes called, smiled, and said: "I love you, Elizabeth" before beginning to play.

Weir whispered a quick excusal before getting up and slipping across the sand to go sit next to John, an enraptured expression on her face.

Teyla's gaze wandered from John and Elizabeth over to the newlywed Carson Beckett and Laura Cadman, who were sitting close together next to the fire, arms around each other and heads close together as they listened to Sheppard's song.

She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against her crossed arms, thinking that love was all around her but her own was no where to be found at the moment, leaving her feeling a little chilly and more than a little lonely.

The thought had no sooner crossed her mind then a familiar warm, rough hand took hers, and Ronon was there, pulling her to her feet with a finger over his lips to signal for quiet. Everyone else, distracted by John's guitar playing, didn't notice as Teyla and Ronon slipped off into the darkness down the beach towards a little cove that Major Lorne had discovered earlier in the day.

Ronon silently slipped his arm around Teyla's shoulders, pulling her to his side as they shuffled barefoot through the sand, the cool night breeze fluttering the hem of her borrowed shirt and pulling a few strands of hair loose from her ponytail to fall into her face. Neither said a word, merely content to walk side by side along the beach and enjoy each other's company. They had a silent understanding; neither needed words to convey what they wanted or needed to say.

They had been out of sight from the bonfire and the sounds from Colonel Sheppard's guitar and some accompanying instruments were merely a distant murmur when Ronon pulled her to a stop, pausing to turn to face her and place his hands on her shoulders. "Teyla, you know I love you, right?"

She swallowed hard, already wondering what he was leading up to. "Yes." She couldn't help but think that something terrible was happening: he was going to break up with her, tell her it was a mistake and he didn't love her after all; or maybe he was going to leave Atlantis; or perhaps he was even _dying_. . .

_No._ She pushed those thoughts out of her mind and forced herself to calmly wait for whatever it was he had to say to her, knowing she couldn't hurry him if she ever wanted to hear what he was going to say.

"And you know that nothing, and I do mean _nothing_, will ever change that, right?"

Well, that struck the "he was going to break up with her" off the list. "Yes."

Ronon cupped her face in his long, work roughened hands and gazed into her brown eyes with a deep, endless love reflected in his green ones. "Teyla, you have made me see the world, my life, in a completely different way. You helped save me from the Wraith, from _myself_, and when you were missing in that alternate reality I realized that I loved you, and I couldn't hide from it, you, or myself any longer. Whenever you're around I'm happy, I'm content, and when you're not with me my heart physically hurts. That's why I'm asking you to become my wife, so we can spend the rest of our lives together." He stopped, looking at her anxiously as he awaited her response, one that would either bring him irrepressible joy or irreparable heartache.

Teyla swallowed hard, trying to keep back the tears pressing at the backs of her eyes. Who knew this soft, poetic side of Ronon existed? She had known he loved her, and some deep, secret part of her had hoped that he would ask her to marry him, but never had she truly _expected _it, not this soon anyway.

A water droplet landed on her arm, then another on her cheek. But still she didn't move, captured by the love and hope in Ronon's eyes, and deeper than that, in his heart, a fiery passion and deep commitment that both excited and scared her. Marriage was a big responsibility, and she was so afraid of somehow hurting him that, for a split second, she was almost scared to say yes.

But then a calming peace washed over her, and she tipped her face up and smiled serenely, two joyful words releasing from her lips and carrying to Ronon's ears on the soft breeze: "Yes, Ronon." She laughed softly, closing her eyes and throwing her head back as she whispered to the skies: "Yes, I will."

Ronon engulfed her in his arms, pulling her to his chest and burying his face in her hair as he whispered: "I love you, Teyla Emmagan."

"I love you, Ronon Dex," she whispered moments before his lips settled over hers, sealing their betrothal to each other as the heavens above them opened up and released a cool, cleansing deluge over their heads and across their shoulders in a shower of blessing.

Teyla would never trade this moment, this _man_, for anything or anyone in any galaxy, any reality, _ever_.

_To Be Continued. . ._

_**I hope that wasn't too sappy and cliché. I also hope you enjoyed, and check for the next chapter tomorrow!**_


	17. White Roses

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 17/18

**Wraith named Michael**: I luv weddings. :D And, uh, I think the secret part might be a good idea, though I think the Atlantians are so happy to have weddings, period, that they're willing to invite just about the whole of the Pegasus galaxy. . . :D I think just as long as you promise to eat the cake and not the guests, everyone will be happy. ;) LOL I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Author's note: Since there's only the epilogue to go, would you rather me post it tomorrow (Thanksgiving) or wait until the day after? I decided I'd let you all have the choice, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 16**

_White Roses_

Teyla secured her hair firmly in place with the last hair pin and stood back from the mirror, looking at her reflection with a mix of excitement and apprehension. Was she ready for this?

Across the room, Elizabeth turned from where she was straightening the skirt of her white wedding gown. "You look beautiful, Teyla," the dark haired woman said, coming over to stand in front of Teyla.

The Athosian sighed and managed a smile. "You do as well," she said, touching the lacy sleeve of Elizabeth's dress. "I believe that Colonel Sheppard will be more than pleasantly surprised when you make your trek down the aisle today."

Elizabeth glanced away, a smooth red blush blossoming across her cheeks. "What about Ronon?" She gathered a handful of roses from the table by the mirror and carefully pushed the short stemmed white roses into Teyla's hair, completing the style. "He's going to absolutely flip when he sees you."

Teyla nervously clenched her fists beneath the sleeves of her dress and smiled nervously. "I know you are right, Elizabeth, but I cannot help but feel. . ."

"Nervous? Scared? Afraid that he'll realize he's made a terrible mistake and walk away in the middle of the ceremony, or not even be there when you start your march?" Elizabeth smiled in understanding and wrapped her arms around Teyla in a warm, friendly hug. "I feel the same way, Teyla, trust me. But I know one thing that helps: I know that John loves me, and I also know that Ronon loves you. They may be scared out of whatever strong warrior mentalities that have kept them alive for this long, but they love us, and they won't abandon us now."

Teyla wrapped her arms around herself, the fringe on her sleeves fluttering with the movement. "This day will go well," she said confidently. "I know it will."

Elizabeth smiled and stepped back with a nod. "There you go," she said. "There's that positive attitude." She turned and rustled back to her own mirror, running a brush through her hair before slipping the crowned veil over her hair and flipping the front of it over her face. "How do I look now?" she questioned, turning back to face Teyla.

"Perfect." Teyla turned back to the mirror and adjusted her skirt one last time before reaching up to finger the jeweled pendant dangling from the cord around her neck. It had not come off since Ronon placed it there eight months ago, and she wasn't planning on taking it off any time soon.

A knock on the door proceeded Laura's head poking inside by a millisecond. "You both ready?" The blush on her cheeks matched her pink silk bridesmaids dress.

Elizabeth looked at Teyla and smiled, offering her another quick hug. "I'll see you after the wedding," she said before following Laura out with in a rustle of silk, a perfume of roses lightly gracing the air in her wake.

Teyla waited a few seconds and then followed her out, walking to the doorway of Atlantis's grand, airy ballroom before she stopped. She didn't want Ronon to see her, but she did want to see John and Elizabeth's wedding, so she risked it and remained in the doorway to watch.

The thing that Teyla thought would stick with her the longest about her friends' wedding was the looks on their faces; the utter joy and love that would have lit the entire room without the assistance of the overhead lighting. Teyla bit her lip, wondering if she looked like that when she looked into Ronon's eyes; recognizing the look on John's face as the one that Ronon looked at her with.

Teyla slipped back away from the doorway as John and Elizabeth came back up the aisle, going back to her and Elizabeth's dressing room to do one last image check and pick up her flowers.

Everything was in place, and she was just turning back to the door when Elizabeth opened it and smiled. "Your turn," she said, her voice bubbling over with joy. As Teyla approached, her friend hugged her and gave her an encouraging smile. "By the time you get up there, your butterflies will be completely gone. I promise."

Teyla swallowed back the fluttering feeling in her throat and nodded, wrapping her hands around her bouquet of roses, thoughtfully provided by the botanists in Atlantis for the big occasion. She drew in a deep breath and waited outside the doors, waiting for them to open in a signal for her to enter the ballroom.

Doctor Zelenka, who was manning the door controls, gave her a smile and a thumbs up before running his hand over the door controls and allowing the doors to slip open, motioning for her to go through them and into the ballroom.

She drew in a deep breath and stepped forward, sliding one foot and then the other forward all the way down the rich red velvet carpet beneath her, heart beating rapidly in her chest and eyes locked on the intense green ones that looked back at her with awe and an overwhelming love that made her knees go weak.

As she drew nearer, Ronon held out his hand and she slipped her smaller one into it, a warm and secure feeling rushing through her as he closed his long fingers over hers and squeezed gently.

The time had come.

Teyla handed her roses off to Laura Beckett, who took them with a smile and then retreated to her place off behind and to Teyla's left, her face and eyes aglow.

The Athosian elder that had been summoned to Atlantis to do the ceremony smiled at the couple, then recited the age-old Ancestral words of bonding; which had, surprisingly enough, turned out to be the same thing said in both Athosian and Satedan wedding ceremonies.

After finishing his recital, the elder instructed Ronon and Teyla to press their palms together and link their fingers. They did so without hesitation, neither breaking eye contact with the other as they did as instructed.

The elder whispered something else in the Ancestors' language and then placed a wreath of woven white roses around their joined hands, instructing first Ronon, then Teyla, to recite the pledge of peace, purity, and love. Ronon spoke the pledge in Satedan; Teyla, Athosian, the rich languages adding yet another sense of splendor to the already intricate and beautiful ceremony.

At last the elder backed off and bowed his head, saying softly: "Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, with the pledge you have made and the boundless love you hold in your hearts, this bonding ceremony is complete. May the Ancestors bless you richly."

Ronon tipped his head down as Teyla tilted hers up, and their lips met sweetly and lovingly in their first kiss as a betrothed couple.

The entire ballroom erupted into applause as Ronon and Teyla shared their first kiss, all aware of how their love story had began and progressed, and all witness to the joy and love that they shared at that very moment.

Ronon and Teyla slowly drifted apart from each other and turned to face the crowd, irrepressible grins on their faces and their hearts bursting with joy and love.

And Teyla knew that even after all her years of life, it was only just beginning. . .

_To Be Concluded. . ._

**_Weddings! Squee! I hope you enjoyed this chapter (I tried to make Ronon and Teyla's wedding as original as possible, and man, it's hard to write an alien wedding!), and there's one more left to go!_**


	18. Epilogue

Please see prologue for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 17/17

**SpaceMonkey0941**: Sorry I didn't respond to you in the last chapter, but I didn't get your review until after I posted. Thank you! And it's okay, I completely understand. . . the fanfiction review/new chapter alert thing isn't working for me, either. It's getting quite frustration (unleashes Wraith named Michael's friends on the FF net owners, LOL). Hopefully, that'll get the fire lit under 'em. I hope you enjoy this (last) chapter!

**Freeplaces**: Thank you! LOL, you're right. :D Let's take a moment to fantasize. . . (squee/sigh) But, seriously, where the heck do you _go_ in the Pegasus galaxy for a honeymoon?? I suppose that's an idea for another fic, though ;). I love Ronon/Teyla. I hope you enjoy the epilogue!

**Darkjewelledassassin**: Thank you! And now it's time for the babies. . . ;) :D I hope you enjoy the epilogue!

**Wraith named Michael**: (whew) I'm glad your friends liked the wedding (and the food, and that's a good thing, right??)! Thank you very much for letting me have a day off: I absolutely loved it, even though I'm dead tired right now from a full day of after-Thanksgiving shopping w/my Dad. . .I swear, I can't keep up with him anymore. . .LOL. I hope you and your friends enjoy the epilogue!

**Thedummie2**: Thank you! One thing that seriously gets on my nerves (even though I know they do have time constraints) is when they so easily just show up on the right planet, and I wanted to make it a little more difficult for them to find Teyla. Thank you! I think the sparring scene and the wedding were my two all time favorite scenes to write in "Superman," they were a lot of fun and the sparring scene was very intense. I'm glad you enjoyed them, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Author's note**: A huge thanks goes out to all of you who have read and/or read and reviewed "Superman." It's been one long, crazy, wonderful ride writing this, and I hope you all got as much enjoyment out of reading it as I have writing it. Once more: THANK YOU ALL!!!

**Epilogue**

_Two years later_

He ran down the halls of Atlantis, dodging personnel as he went and apologizing to those he bumped into, but still not slowing his pace. After the hurried radio transmission he'd received from Doctor Beckett, nothing was going to get in the way of him and the infirmary.

Ronon skidded to a stop in front of the door to the infirmary, still dressed in the full off world gear, weapons included. He hadn't even taken time to pull off his coat when he'd come tearing through the Stargate, taking off straight for the infirmary without so much as a hello to the people on the other side waiting for him.

Beckett appeared in the doorway, both hands out to forestall the questions just waiting to tumble from Ronon's lips. "Before ye say _anything_, lad, come with me."

Ronon reluctantly kept his mouth closed and followed Beckett through the infirmary, all the way to the small curtained-off cubicle that was set off from the rest of the infirmary.

The Scottish doctor placed one finger to his lips and motioned for Ronon to go inside, giving him an encouraging smile before slipping back off into the main part of the infirmary.

Dex took a deep breath and slipped around the curtain, taking a moment to just stop and _look_ at the sight that met his eager eyes.

Teyla was sitting up in the infirmary bed, a tired but deliriously happy look on her face, her hair pulled back into a ponytail that had fallen most of the way out.

She still looked absolutely gorgeous.

And cuddled in her arms was a little pink-wrapped bundle, impossibly small but so incredibly alive.

"Teyla. . ."

She looked up and her smile widened into a full-fledged grin as she motioned for him to come over with a tilt of her head and an alluring sparkle of her eyes. "Come meet your daughter, Ronon," she said, her voice soft and strong.

Dex crept closer to her, shrugging off his coat and placing it across the chair in the corner, his holster next to it, before sitting down on the edge of Teyla's bed and gazing at the sleeping infant in his wife's arms.

"She looks like you," he said softly, reaching out a long finger to touch her tiny hand, smiling when small, piercing green eyes opened to look curiously at him. An adorable toothless baby grin stretched his daughter's lips, and her little hand latched onto his finger as she made a content noise and closed her eyes to fall back asleep.

He'd seen Carson and Laura's baby boy; he'd seen, helped with, and even held Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Weir's little girl, but never did he think that he would have a baby with Teyla, though he'd secretly hoped for so long. . .

"Her eyes are yours," Teyla responded softly, breaking him out of his thoughts as she looked up to smile at him again. "Those green, intense eyes that I get lost in every single time I look into them."

Ronon reached out his free hand and cupped his wife's cheek, smiling at her before leaning in to kiss her. "She's beautiful," he whispered. "And so are you."

Teyla looked down, an embarrassed smile curling her lips. "I look terrible," she said in a soft, flustered voice. "My hair's a tangled mess and I've got bags under my eyes."

Ronon just smiled and wrapped his arms around his family, overwhelming love for Teyla and Kyana growing in his heart by the second. This was his family, his love, his heart, and he would do anything to protect that, at any cost. He could stand to lose his home, his life, everything, just so long as Teyla and Kyana were _always_ a part of his life. He couldn't lose them.

Colonel Sheppard had told him that he wasn't Superman, he couldn't save everyone. And he'd responded back that he very well could try.

Perhaps he wasn't Superman. Perhaps he couldn't save the world and everyone in it. Perhaps all he could do was try.

But he had found his kryptonite: Teyla and Kyana. They could make him or break him, love him or hate him, keep him alive or be his death.

But either way, he'd find some way to protect them.

Ronon closed his eyes, buried his face in his wife's hair, and sealed forever in his heart that powerful promise that he hoped he could keep.

**THE END**

**_An idea for a sequel is spinning around in my head right now, but I don't know if it will work out or not, so I can't honestly make any promises. I hope it will work out, but if not, I hope you enjoyed "Superman." Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, and I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!_**


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